


Foxhollow

by Helthehatter



Category: Zootopia (2016)
Genre: Angst, F/M, Mating, Medivial AU, Prejudice, Romance, Soul mate, Tolerance, Tribute, Zootopia - Freeform, gypsies, royal au, savage - Freeform, sword fights, wildehopps
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-08-30
Updated: 2018-06-29
Packaged: 2018-08-12 01:50:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 35
Words: 60,098
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7915792
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Helthehatter/pseuds/Helthehatter
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Prince Nicholas Wilde now has the Region of Foxhollow to rule. A fact he's...impartial about.<br/>But his royal life is turned upside down when he receives a gift with long ears and a cottontail. Romance, bloodshed, betrayal, tolerance, and more are in store for the predator and prey who are about to change history.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Tribute

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “There, that should hold you,” the fox growled, moving back to his seat leaving the bunny lying on her side. Judith could feel her body shaking, her tears staining her fur and dampening the hay, she felt like her thumping heart would burst through her chest. Helplessness and dread weighed her soul down as they headed to the Foxhollow castle which would soon be known as Judith Hopps’ grave.

Once upon a time, there was a vast and resourceful land. It was full of forests, and lakes, mountains and valleys. Naturally, the land was full of animals of all kinds, as time went by there came predators who decided they wanted specific acres of land for themselves and their families, through fighting and debating territories known as Regions came to be. Predator couples ruled each and were known as kings and queens they would protect and rule their territory and the other predators and prey that inhabited it until it was time to past it on to their children.  
Many different Regions were founded and named, each unique with its own resources. And, naturally, many stories came from these Regions, epic tales of adventure, betrayal, danger, friendship, and love. While all respectable stories in their own right the tale we will be telling today is without a doubt one of the most peculiar but also one of the most memorable: The tale of a bunny and a fox.  
Our story starts in the Region known as Foxhollow, an average sized territory flush with forests and vegetation; it had been many, many years since it had seen a bad harvest.  
The rulers of this prosperous land were the royal Wilde family. The King and Queen, Maximillian and Amelia Wilde, had decided to retire and announced their son, Nicholas Piberius Wilde, would be taking the throne. The news brought other royals and citizens of Foxhollow to the castle.  
The minutes before the coronation is where this grand tale of bravery, romance, and change, begins. 

.

Nicholas Wilde was in every way, shape, and form: neutral.  
He would not reject the crown of Foxhollow, his birthright. But he would be a liar if he said he was jumping off the walls, overjoyed at the thought of taking his parents’ responsibility. It was odd, he had spent much of his childhood in stuffy study rooms, pouring over history books, sitting through dull meetings alongside his parents as they talked over trading and taxes, going to sleep with sore arms and legs after hours of sparring.  
All those years, all that time, had led up to this moment, a day that was going to change his life. Yet all he could muster was an apathetic ‘hmm’. Maybe he’d become more invested after he was crowned and had a few days to adjust to it all.  
Nicholas turned around, fully clothed in his Region’s colors: emerald and amethyst, as his bedchamber door was open, in stepping his mother who was dressed in her own royal garb.  
Amelia Wilde’s eyes and lips were decorated with both laughter and age lines, caused by years of running a kingdom and laughing at the eccentric quims of her husband and son. She smiled warmly at her child as she walked toward him, her green eyes the exact same shade as her kit’s, were glittering with pride and tenderness.  
“You look so handsome, dearest,” she praised him, “And so regal.”  
He returned her smile, accepting the embrace she provided. “And you look stunning as always.”  
She giggled softly at him, stepping away, her tender grin now more humorous and messy, showing off her white fangs, “Don’t you go wasting that charm on your mother, I already love you.”  
“No other woman is worthy of my praise,” he smirked but it quickly dropped when Amelia gave him a pointed look. “No other woman is worthy of my praise,” he repeated firmly.  
“That’s because you never look,” his mother replied in a clipped tone. Her words made Nick’s shoulders droop, they had had this very conversation weekly since the day he turned eighteen. “Mother it’s not like I need a queen to be a successful ruler. Look at King Lionheart, he is an eternal bachelor and is doing just fine on his own.”  
Amelia’s nose curled, revealing her opinion of the lion who was now in their throne room, a guest for Nicholas’ coronation. “But so is King and Queen Otterton, which is more impressive considering they have one of the smallest Regions in the lands.”  
“You realize why, Mother? Because they are two mammals who, as you said, are ruling one of the smallest Regions known.” He placed his paws on his hips, “Besides, those two are a good match because they married for love. Love doesn’t happen after one conversation, it takes time.”  
“Yes, but you aren’t even looking,” the elder vixen pointed out. “Nicholas, you’re father and I aren’t getting any younger and I just hate the thought of leaving you by yourself with all of Foxhollow to run.”  
Nicholas bit back another sigh, he could never banter long with his mother, “Let me get through this coronation first and then I’ll look.” He linked his arm with hers and headed toward the door, a relieved smile already across the vixen’s face. “In fact if I spot any vixens as lovely as you then I’ll even talk to her.”  
Amelia nodded in satisfaction as they left Nicholas’ bedchamber. As he walked it didn’t go unnoticed that he was leaving his room as a prince…and would be returning as a king. 

.

Judith Hopps straightened up, rubbing the dirt covering her paws on her foggy grey skirt, her dress more rags than anything at this point.  
The farm bunny was with a handful of her other siblings, having planted the last seeds for this harvest, she noticed how her brothers were filthier than she or her sisters, they truly did not mind looking the part of peasant. While Judith didn’t mind having to work to live she knew that the animals of Foxhollow, the middle class and nobles and royalty(though the latter she knew she would never meet) would look down at her even more so if she was caked in dirt.  
“We should be heading back,” Rose, the eldest of the current group stated, her head turned up as she studies the darkening sky. Night would soon be upon them.  
Rose’s siblings made no arguments, walking across the rows and rows of not yet grown carrots as they made their way to the burrows that were their home. It was almost time for supper, their mother no doubt slaving away in the kitchen.  
Judith was having a pleasant conversation with one of her younger sisters, Gwen, asking about a brush that had gone missing when they noticed a carriage.  
It was a few yards away, passing the Hopps carrot fields as it dashed across the gravel path. The carriage was a beautiful color of sapphire, silver lining the doors and wheels. The black mare pulling it looked incredibly pompous and self-important. Adding that all together it wasn’t hard for Judith to deduce that it was a royal carriage.  
“Isn’t that the emblem of the Riverway Region?” her brother George asked, pointing to a symbol of what looked to be an otter on the carriage door.  
Rose nodded in confirmation, “Tonight is the coronation of Prince Nicholas.”  
“That’s tonight?” Judith looked to her sister. She could recall a few mammals talking about the coronation on her last tri p to the last marke.t She had not paid much attention since buying apples had been of more importance in her eyes.  
“Yes,” Rose told her. “Poppa said he saw King Lionheart’s carriage pass this morning, must have wanted to get there early to show a good impression.”  
“What is Prince Nicholas like?” the youngest of the current group, Agatha asked.  
Her older siblings shrugged their shoulders, none had ever seen the prince. Years ago Judith had caught a glimpse of him as he visited town with his father, but once again food held more importance.  
Suddenly Rupert, the youngest of the brothers there, shuddered, “When I hear about a new predator getting crowned I always get uneasy.”  
George crinkled his nose, “This is the first coronation you’ve ever lived through.” w  
“Yeah but I’ve heard of others. You know they crowned some real brutes before.” He wrapped his arms around himself, “I heard some were even bloodthirsty.” A few of the sisters joined his shivering at that word. It was a word whispered not only by the Hopps family but many a prey in many a Region. It was the reason they were always sure to lock their doors at night and give their predator neighbors a wide berth. You just never knew…  
“And Prince Nicholas is a fox,” Rupert hadn’t stopped his fear mongering. “And we’re rabbits! By nature we’re born enemies. What’s to stop him from sending his guards over to snatch us ad make rabbit stew?”  
Agatha gasped in fright while Rose scowled. “I really do not think Prince Nicholas, or any predator, for that matter is going to make any stew-rabbit or otherwise. That hasn’t happened in centuries.”  
Rupert didn’t look convinced but by then they had arrived home and talk of bloodthirsty predators ceased. But one problem was replaced with another when they saw no smoke rising from the chimney of the dome of earth they called home. Their mother wasn’t cooking…which could only mean something bad had happened.  
They hurried inside, Rose sending the youngest away to the safety of their rooms and other siblings while Judith and George followed her to the kitchen.  
There was a mob waiting for them. All crowded up before the kitchen doorway but none daring to even stick a whisker in. Judith’s stomach twisted in dread but she forced herself through the mass, murmuring excuse me’s and resorting to elbow shoving. She couldn’t stay in the back of the crowd, not knowing what was going on. But when she had finally made it to the front of the group she wished she had.  
The bane of the Hopps family existence stood at their kitchen table, before her parents: the red fox known as Gideon Grey.  
He was a landowner, running the farms of the quaint village of Bunnyburrow. When the harvest came in he decided how much a famer’s family got and where the rabbits sold the produce. And since he owned the burrow the Hopps’ called home he made them pay a steep rent to stay there. Tragically it was a rent too steep for them to pay this month which was why the fox was polluting the kitchen with his stank musk now.  
“We’ve given you all we can afford, sir,” her father said, spreading his arms in an I-don’t-know-what-else-to-do fashion, keeping himself firmly between his wife and the fox. “One of our little ones got sick and we needed an apothecary.”  
“Yes, I heard ya the first time,” Gideon replied, his lip curled to reveal the glint of fangs. “But that doesn’t solve my problem, does it? I needed that money so I could buy a gift for the new king of Foxhollow. They could easily take these lands away from me-and you-if I don’t stay in their good graces.” He placed large, clawed, paws on his hips, looking around the kitchen, unimpressed and disgusted. “I’d take something of yours as a gift but there’s no way in hellfire he’d-” Gideon’s long jaw shut as his eyes reached and stopped at Judith and the other rabbits watching the scene before them. Immediately the bunnies behind her scampered back but Judith forced her legs to remain still. She may have been terrified of Gideon, probably all foxes if she knew any others, but she refused to let him see, especially when he was looking straight at her, his blue eyes thoughtful.  
Eventually his scowl pulled up into a nasty and deceitful grin fitting for a fox.  
Gideon turned back to her parents, trying to appear pleasant. “I was wrong, you do have something of…average value.” He pointed one claw at Judith. “Give me her and you’ll be free from three months’ worth of rent.”  
Her parents already frightened expressions morphed into ones of horror, Gideon might as well have bared his fangs and gone for their throat. “But-but,” her father stammered, “Wha…”  
“Many prey were given as tributes to newly crowned royalty decades ago,” the fox explained, his smile making the rabbits sick. “I’m sure soon to be King Nicholas will love this call to the old traditions.”  
“You can’t!” Judith’s mother finally spoke, her voice tight and fierce. “You will not take my daughter all the way across Foxhollow as a gift to an animal I’ve never met! Take me if you must have a tribute but Judith stays here.”  
Judith wanted to step forward, to tell her mother it was fine, but she could not, her legs were stone and her mouth was cotton. All she could image was what this fox prince looked like, acted like, she knew he was older, she could see a creaky old fox with graying fur, snarling and snapping at her, mouth wet with saliva as he tried to have a taste…  
Gideon’s eyes were dark as he glared down at the two. “You don’t have a choice, either give your daughter up or your entire family will be homeless.”  
The conflicted expressions on their faces made Judith’s stomach twist even more. Again she tried to say something but again nothing came out, she blinked and could see the prince rubbing his claws across her face and neck and chest as he skinned her alive.  
Gideon must’ve been getting impatient and not wanting to deal with resistant rabbits because he added, “Surely you can save up money to buy her from the king? You do have three months to do so.” He wrinkled his nose in distaste as he looked at Judith. “And I doubt she’ll fetch a large price. I wish I could find a prey more presentable but beggars can’t be choosers.” His eyes slid to Mr. and Mrs. Hopps, “And you are beggars.”  
Judith could see it the moment her parents looked at her with heartbroken faces. She could see the self-disgust in their eyes. Judith wanted to tell them it was okay, she was a big bunny she could take care of herself, that they needed this home otherwise they’d die starving in the streets, but she couldn’t. All she could do was see her innards falling out of her torn abdomen, blooding spray as the fox she was about to be given to ate her. She could only hope she survived until they collected the money.  
Her father nodded, refusing to look at Gideon. Smug and satisfied he immediately grabbed Judy’s arm and dragged her to the door. She bit her lip to keep from wailing, the fox’s claws digging into her skin. She looked over her shoulder and reached her free paw out to her parents, wanting to say goodbye to them, to her siblings, wanting to get one good look at them in case this was the last she ever saw of her family, and her home.  
Before the burrow door shut behind her she saw her mother fall to her knees in tears, and her father demanding that Gideon ask the prince how much it would take to get his daughter back. And then the door was shut and Judith was leaving her old life behind.  
Gideon had his old cart parked near the burrow, his friend, a mule, ready to pull it. Unceremoniously the fox tossed Judith into the back of the carriage that was full of filthy hay and old crates.  
“Get going,” Gideon said to the mule, climbing onto the seat of the cart, “We have a lot of ground to cover and little time to do so.”  
The mule obeyed, jogging away from the burrow, heading for the capital of Foxhollow. It was when the burrow, her home, disappeared from view that Judith snapped.  
“No,” she breathed, moving to jump out of the moving carriage, terror pumping through her veins and bringing tears to her eyes. “No, no, no, no!”  
Gideon let out a snarl as he saw the rabbit trying to escape, he quickly grabbed her waist, claws digging through the worn fabric and painfully pricking her skin. Judith struggled against her captor, kicking and slapping at him as he pinned her down. “No, no, no!” she repeated over and over, her voice rising, becoming hysterical. But she wasn’t strong enough to fend off Gideon who found some coarse rope in one of the crates and managed to tie her wrists and ankles.  
“There, that should hold you,” the fox growled, moving back to his seat leaving the bunny lying on her side. Judith could feel her body shaking, her tears staining her fur and dampening the hay, she felt like her thumping heart would burst through her chest. Helplessness and dread weighed her soul down as they headed to the Foxhollow castle which would soon be known as Judith Hopps’ grave. 

.

King Nicholas Wilde stood between his parents as he was greeted by both royals and nobles who offered him well-wishes and praise.  
He had to fight back a smirk as King Lionheart of the Kingsland Region hammed it up, exclaiming how both their lands would prosper together as brothers in bond. When he finally stepped away for the next well-wisher Nicholas noticed his mother rolling her eyes.  
King and Queen Otterton were much simpler, smiling up at Nicholas and offering him the best of luck. Queen Otterton told him she had brought him a few jewels native to Riverway, adding teasingly that it was a good way to catch a fair lady’s eye. Nicholas smiled politely and thanked her, ignoring his mother’s pointed smile while his father chuckled behind his paw.  
“I think it’s time to mingle,” former King Maxmilian decided as their last well-wisher departed. “Emmit brought some of his finest dishes and I must try a few.” He patted his son on the back, smiling proudly at him before walking across the room to the buffet that waited for him.  
Amelia let out a small sigh of strained fondness, “You’re father was wasted as a king, he should’ve been a court jester.” She smiled at her son, “You have fun, talk with animals and get to know them. You’re their king now.”  
Nicholas smirked at her, “And talk to a couple of vixens.”  
She returned the playful grin, “My kit’s so smart.”  
Nicholas separated from his mother, looking for a specific mammal. It didn’t take long to find him; his eternally furious personality always granted him a lot of personal space.  
Sir Ele Finnick, a noble fox that found his riches instead of being born into it like most, was the one animal in the world Nicholas considered his friend; having known him since he was a kit and the fennec was a street urchin.  
Finnick was leaning against the wall, directly under a tapestry that showed the first Wilde claming the Foxhollow Region as his own. He held a half empty goblet of wine, swirling the red liquid around, his brown eyes looking down into the glass’s contents.  
When Nicholas’ shadow fell over him the fennec looked up and smirked, “Good evening, Your Majesty.”  
Nicholas playfully narrowed his eyes, “If it isn’t my favorite street rat.”  
Finnick snorted in a very un-regal way before turning his eyes to the crowd around them, “Quite a party.”  
“Isn’t it,” Nicholas followed his friend’s gaze.  
“So, how does it feel knowing you can behead anyone you wish,” the fennec smiled evilly, baring his small but sharp teeth.  
Nicholas gave his friend a droll look, “There is something so very wrong with you, Finnick. But to answer your question I’m more worried over finding a vixen to appear my mother than running the Region.”  
Finnick laughed, it came out raspy, “You would be more stressed over that.”  
“I’ve spent my entire life getting ready to be king, not finding a suitable queen,” the red fox reminded his friend.  
“Well, better get to hunting,” Finnick waved his goblet carrying paw toward the crowd.  
Nicholas studied the party goers, picking out the vixens and trying to figure out which one he should approach, he knew he wouldn’t be rejected by any-none would dare reject a king. But that was the problem, wasn’t it? Many women would look at him and only see a crown.  
Finnick must’ve caught his friend’s hesitation because he spoke once more, “What about Lady Winter? She’s a good catch, smart and kind, and attractive.”  
Nicholas studied the artic fox who was having a pleasant conversation with Queen Otterton. He had spoken with her before, whenever her family visited the castle or when he walked the streets of the capital. He supposed he could at least try to talk to her, see if they could find some common ground to bond over.  
“Wish me luck,” Nicholas told the smaller fox beside him before heading toward the vixen.  
He was halfway across the room when a scream split the air, sending everyone’s fur on edge.  
Nicholas whirled around toward the large doors of the room, wondering if the castle was under attack but instead the door opened to see a husky red fox in dirty peasant clothing walking in, dragging a bound rabbit behind him.  
The nobles of the room exchanged confused silence as Nicholas remembered he was king and it was up to him to figure out what was going on. He marched over to the fox and the rabbit, the latter having been released and fallen to her knees.  
“May I help you?” Nick asked the peasant.  
“Ah!” the plump fox exclaimed, bowing dramatically to him. “King Nicholas, it is an honor to meet you I am Gideon Grey, I manage the fields of Bunnyburrow.”  
“Oh, I see,” Nicholas replied, remembering that Bunnyburrow was one of the most prosperous fields in all of Foxhollow. “It is a pleasure to meet you.”  
“The pleasure is all mine, Sire,” Gideon Grey gushed. “I’m afraid I can’t stay long, but I wanted to bring you a gift for your coronation.” He stepped back and indicated to the rabbit, “I’ve brought you a tribute.”  
Nicholas finally got a good look at the bunny. She was dressed in an old gray dress that was caked with dirt, her ankles and wrists tied, her gray fur matted and ears drooped across her back. She was staring up at him with violet eyes that popped in contrast to her fur, said eyes were full to the brim with terror as she stared up at him, unblinking. Nicholas noted this was the closest he had ever been to a rabbit.  
“Tribute?” he echoed, confused.  
“It is an old-tradition for royalty to receive prey tributes on their coronation,” Gideon Grey explained.  
Nicholas narrowed his eyes at the rabbit who seemed to shrink into herself, her body shivering like she was in a blizzard instead of a warm space. He could vaguely recall reading about such a tradition but it hadn’t been performed in years and Nicholas couldn’t help it, he glanced over his shoulder to seek advice from his parents. But he received none, his father going back to his meal and his mother turning away.  
So Nicholas decided it would be rude to not accept the gift, as bizarre as it was. He turned back to Gideon Grey with a polite smile, “Thank you, it is much appreciated.”  
The fox smiled proudly, “It was no trouble at all, Your Highness.”  
“Guards,” Nicholas spoke to the two antelopes standing by the doors, “Please take my…tribute, to my bedchamber along with the other gifts.”


	2. Claws and Teeth

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> She flinched when he stepped forward, and it annoyed the fox, incredibly so. “What do you think I’m going to do with you?” he growled the question.  
> The rabbit just looked at him, her eyes brimming with fright and melancholy and it made Nick’s insides twist with discomfort and anger. He had done nothing to earn this rabbit’s fear…at least not yet.

King Nicholas’s bedchamber was much bigger than the room Judith shared with her siblings.  
Instead of making a circle it formed a perfect rectangle. Where the walls floor and ceiling of the burrow consisted of dirt, this consisted of gray brick.  
At her left was a large four poster bed covered in deep reds, on her right was a large fireplace that already had a roaring inferno lighting up the room. Beside the fireplace was a small and comfy looking couch.  
Across from Judith, on the other side of the room, were two large glass doors that led out into a miniature balcony where beyond you could see the fields, forests, and even a few lakes, of Foxhollow.  
And in the middle of the room, atop a intricately detailed rug, sat a pile of presents, coronation gifts for the brand new king. And Judy belonged in that pile of objects.  
Though she suspected she’d fit in soon enough.  
Still bound she was roughly pushed into the chamber by one of the antelope guards, causing her to trip and fall to her knees next to the gifts. The antelopes shut the door behind them.  
Now all Judith had was her terrified, sporadic thoughts to keep her company. And they kept jumping from her home, to her mourning family that she would probably never see again, to the glass case above the fireplace that held an antique looking sword; to the king she had just met.  
Nicholas Wilde was younger than she had thought, his russet fur had been well-groomed, the green eyes that had stared at her with confusion then indifference striking. He hadn’t looked like he would want to hurt her…but she shouldn’t let herself relax. It could have been a trick to make her let her guard down so she didn’t try to run when he went for her throat. Judith swallowed past the lump in her throat, her limbs shivering.  
Suddenly the chamber door opened, Judy jolted to attention, her heart hammering, expecting it to be the king.  
But no, it was…a sheep?  
An ewe, dressed in the blue dress of a castle servant and a bell around her neck, walking into the bedchamber like it was her own. When her bored eyes met Judith’s she halted in her steps, blinking a few times as if it took her a moment to register what she was seeing.  
And then she spoke, “Those guards were telling the truth.”  
“H-huh?” Judy stammered, wondering what the sheep was doing in the king’s chamber. She wondered if she too was a present to the fox.  
“They told me the king had received a bunny for a coronation gift,” the sheep explained walking over, examining Judith. “I just didn’t believe them.”  
“I’m afraid it’s true,” she tried to keep her voice from coming out as a terrified moan. “I had to become a gift to the king so my family wouldn’t become homeless.”  
“Hm,” the sheep replied in a disinterested tone. She had a feather duster in hoof and was cleaning up the corners of the room, Judy watched her.  
“Are you a maid?” she asked the ewe.  
“Unfortunately,” the sheep groaned. “You can call me Bellwether.”  
The rabbit nodded, “I’m Judith Hopps.”  
Bellwether didn’t clean for long, eventually placing her feather duster on the floor and walking over to examine the array of gifts. “Well, Judith Hopps, I am afraid your luck has officially run out.”  
Her words sent Judith’s ears falling to her shoulders, her eyes widening in fright. If her wrists weren’t bound she would rub them across her arms, she couldn’t help but imagine claws grazing across her flesh.  
“What is he going to do with me?” Judith asked in a frightened whisper.  
Her terror had Bellwether looking up from a wrapped gift box, giving the bunny a funny look. She shrugged, “I haven’t the faintest idea. But no need to be so horrified, we’re prey. Our luck runs out sooner or later.” She opened a box, despite that it belonged to King Nicholas, and pulled out a tapestry of a fox being crowned. Without further ado Bellwether ripped it in half with a satisfied sneer.  
“We’re prey living in a predator world.”  
Judith gasped in dismay, couldn’t the sheep be beheaded for destroying the king’s property. “Why did you do that?” she asked, breathless with fright.  
“It’s my coping mechanism,” the sheep stated proudly. “It’s how I handle living under the clawed feet of the sharp-teethed.”  
“But won’t he found out what you did?” Judith wondered. Or worse, would Nicholas assume his new gift did it?  
“Not if I throw it in the fire,” Bellwether replied, doing exactly that. She wiped her hooves together in an accomplished manner, watching the beautifully designed tapestry burn. “He hasn’t looked through his presents. He won’t even know it ever existed.”  
The sheep turned to Judith, apparently finally noticing the rope binding the rabbit. “I imagine he wouldn’t be overly pleased when he finds you unbound.” She walked over and knelt beside the rabbit, starting to untie the ropes around her wrists, “Are you a runner? I won’t stop you, just curious.”  
Judith wanted to say yes, that as soon as she was free she would run out of that unlocked door and not stop until she made it back to Bunnyburrow, to the loving arms of her family. But then she imagined King Nicholas hunting his new possession down, dragging her back, maybe even taking a few of her siblings along for the fun of it. And even if the king didn’t, even if he didn’t care if she ran away, she would have to worry about Gideon Grey. If she went home Gideon Grey would throw the Hopps family out into the cold.  
Judith shook her head, she would not be running anywhere.  
Bellwether didn’t seem surprised by that, stepping back once Judith’s wrist were free. She turned back to the gifts while the bunny untied her ankles.  
Judith stood up, her legs cramped and numb from the long carriage ride there, she looked around the room, despite herself she ended up admiring the room. It really was beautiful, fit for a king. Speaking of…  
“When will King Nicholas return?” she asked the sheep who found a box of sweets, she placed them in the bosom of her dress, her wool hiding its rectangular shape.  
“I don’t know,” Bellwether replied. “And I really couldn’t care less.” She looked back at Judith, “But you should probably stay in here all the same, until the fox decides what to do with you.”  
“You’re leaving?” Judith asked in horror as she watched the sheep head to the door.  
“I’m going to eat these sweets then go to bed,” Bellwether replied. She glanced over her shoulder, “I bring the fox his breakfast. I’ll see you in the morning.”  
But I could be dead by then, Judith bit her tongue to keep from screaming the words. Watching, silent save for her pounding heart as Bellwether closed the door behind her. Judith was left with her blood-drenched fantasies once again. 

.

The coronation party was over, the guests bidding farewell as they headed to their own homes. Amelia and Maxmilian had gone off to bed but Nicholas was in no hurry to return to his bedchamber. Not when there was a tied up rabbit waiting for him.  
Instead he sat in the kitchen with Finnick, both enjoying mugs of ale while the red fox talked of his dilemma: “What am I suppose to do with a rabbit? Why did that farmer even bother bringing her?”  
“He wants sucker up to you just like every other gift giver you’ve met tonight,” Finnick informed before taking a large swig of his drink.  
“It’s been years and years since prey were given as coronation gifts,” Nicholas reminded his friend. “I can’t even recall what royalty did with them.”  
“Lucky for us both I actually remember what I read,” Finnick replied, “Ready for a history lesson?”  
“Wait,” Nick took a long sip of his ale. “Go on then.”  
“Most prey were used as personal helpers,” Finnick began. “They’d clean the royalty’s room; hold up the trail of their dresses and capes so they wouldn’t drag in the dirt, little things like that.”  
“But others?” Nicholas inquired.  
Finnick bore an uncomfortable expression, “Some were used as…to put it in a light-hearted term: scratching posts.”  
Nicholas flinched at the words, “How’s that light-hearted?”  
“Fine, some were abused, frequently, by the predators that owned them, for fun. And since they were above the law they didn’t get punished, even when the prey died. Do you remember reading about King Lionheart’s ancestor: Skar?”  
Nicholas nodded, that lion had been nothing more than a tyrant and both Kingsland and it’s neighboring Regions had let out a breath of relief when he fell in battle.  
“He had a flock of sheep he kept in a cell, whenever he was stressed he let his aggression out on them. He’d run his claws across their faces, scar them, and he didn’t bother to bath them so their blood was stained in their wool.”  
Nicholas shuddered in revulsion, “I’m not going to do that to the rabbit.”  
“No, you won’t,” Finnick replied. “And of course you won’t do the other thing prey were sometimes used for so there’s no point bringing it up.”  
The fennec’s words had Nicholas’s brows narrowing in curiosity, “It can’t be as bad as using a prey as…a scratching post.”  
“It isn’t its just…unusual, not something predators do often.”  
“Finnick,” Nick grumbled in annoyance, “Don’t make me go to the castle’s library and hunt down a history book. I’ve already done my time in there.”  
Finnick snickered, his eyes glinting with dry humor. “Fine, Your Highness. There were times, though rare, that prey became consorts to royalty.”  
The words had Nicholas pricking his ears up, “Consorts?”  
“Or a mistress…a harem if there was more than one…whatever word you prefer.”  
“I don’t prefer any of them!” Nicholas replied, pressing his ears back against his skull and his tail bristling. “I’m not making that rabbit my mistress!”  
“It’s not any of my business what you do with her,” Finnick replied, chuckling at his friend’s flustered expression. “I’m just telling you what kings before you have done.” He took another swig of his ale.  
Nicholas guzzled an even larger amount. 

.

An hour or so later Nicholas finally found his way back to his chamber, more than a little sloshed. Stepped inside his mind was full of scratching posts and mistresses as he made it to his wardrobe, pulling off his coronation cape and shirt as he did so.  
He had thrown his wardrobe open with much fanfare, humming a tune that had played at his party while he decided which of his evening wear he desired.  
“Ex-excuse me?”  
The soft voice made Nicholas jump and whirl around; blinking to clear his fuzzy vision to see it was the bunny who had spoken. He had forgotten she was sent here.  
She crawled out from under his couch, her lowered ears slightly red as if she was flustered, and her violet eyes big with fear.  
“Were you hiding under my couch?” his voice was slightly slurred.  
The rabbit shrunk into herself, “I didn’t know what else to do. I’m not sure were I’m supposed to sleep.”  
Nicholas snorted rudely, “There’s a couch right there.” He pointed to said object before turning around and pulling out one of his night shirts, he threw it over his head without bothering to take off his breeches.  
He moved toward his bed but the bunny’s voice stopped him, it was still quiet, frightened: “Sir?”  
He glanced back at her, she still looked like she wanted to hide, but along with the fear in her eyes there was curiosity. “What are you going to do with me?”  
Nick’s eyes narrowed at her words, he took a step forward, “What am I going to do with you?”  
She flinched when he stepped forward, and it annoyed the fox, incredibly so. “What do you think I’m going to do with you?” he growled the question.  
The rabbit just looked at him, her eyes brimming with fright and melancholy and it made Nick’s insides twist with discomfort and anger. He had done nothing to earn this rabbit’s fear…at least not yet.  
He smiled his alcohol-addled mind sure to show off his sharp teeth as he did so, he walked over to the rabbit who stepped back as far as she could go, the back of the couch bringing her to a halt.  
Nicholas knelt to be at eye level with the rabbit, “I actually asked the same question to a friend of mine. What did a king do when given a prey as a tribute?”  
She slammed her eyes shut as Nicholas leaned closer, his breath rustling her whiskers. “I could make you my own little servant. Though as a new king odds are a stress reliever would be more useful.” His eyes narrowed, becoming green slits, “There are two kinds of ways I could do this.” He lifted a claw and traced it along her jaw line, making the rabbit let out a small squeak of fright. “I could sharpen my claws on your bones. I bet that’s what you expect; I bet you think I’m going to eat you.”  
The rabbit forced her eyes open to meet his gaze, “A-aren’t you?” she asked softly, breathlessly.  
“Maybe,” his claw lifted her chin up and he leaned even closer, his nose bumping against hers. “But I was told prey were sometimes taken as consorts as well.”  
The bunny’s eyes bulged and Nicholas could no longer keep up the façade. He pulled away, bursting into drunken laughter. “Too bad for me,” he said between bursts of mirth, “That not only do you smell like dirt you’re also one of the ugliest things I’ve ever seen.” He stood up and tripped over to his bed, shaking his head as he continued to chuckle.  
Nicholas threw one of his many pillows to the rabbit, the lacy mound smacking her stunned face. Still grinned Nicholas crawled under his covers, curling into himself. In a matter of seconds his conscious slipped away, leaving behind a rattling, drunken, snore. 

.

The smell of hot food roused Judith, her eyes blinking open and her stomach grumbling.  
It was amazing she got any sleep last night, after the fox’s threats, she was only half sure he was only joking. Not wanting to sleep on the cold stone floor she had dared to lie on the bed, resting her head on the pillow the fox had thrown at her.  
The rest of the night was spent listening to the snores of the fox and his words running over and over through her brain until finally, exhaustion had her nodding off.  
But now she sat up, the couch was much comfier than the floor she slept in at the burrows, and saw Bellwether walk in, carrying a tray of steaming bread, cheese, and a handful of blueberries, along with a drink that carried the scent of honey.  
Bellwether smirked at Judith before walking toward Nicholas’s bed, placing the tray on his bedside table. “Your Highness,” she spoke loudly, “Your breakfast.”  
Nicholas had flinched at the sheep’s volume. “I hear you, Bellwether. What’s my morning schedule?”  
“Nothing yet, Your Highness,” Bellwether replied.  
“Then I’m going to spend the morning sleeping off this hangover,” Nick burrowed further into his pillows.  
“As you wish,” Dawn said in an uncaring tone, heading toward the door.  
“Bellwether,” Nicholas’s voice halted her. “Take the rabbit with you.”  
Judith’s ears popped up in surprise, she looked to the sheep who seemed just as surprised. “And do what with her?” Bellwether asked.  
Nicholas lifted his paw and waved it in an uncaring fashion, “Feed her, bath her, put her in a dress with less patches, make her help you with her chores, I don’t care, just get her out of here. I can’t sleep with her fear stinking up my room.”  
Judith’s ears flushed but she didn’t hesitate to follow Bellwether out of the room, letting out a sigh of relief when they walked out into the hallway.  
“He’s crazy,” Judith whispered in fright as Bellwether shut the chamber door. She didn’t look surprised by the rabbit’s words as she led her down the hall. “What did he do?”  
“He-he threatened to eat me,” Judith moaned in fright, “Or m-make me his mistress!”  
Bellwether threw her head back and laughed, “Oh I wouldn’t take those words to heart. Nicholas obviously had a keg or two before going to sleep.”  
Judith did recall the smell of ale on his breath, “So…he’s usually kinder?”  
“Oh no, he’s still a complete ass. I’m partly convinced his mother had an affair with a mule. But he doesn’t make the habit of ‘eating’ prey if you understand me.”  
Judith did and the words made her ears flush red once again.  
“So,” Bellwether changed the subject, “Is there anything specific you want to do?”  
“I really need to relieve myself,” Judith admitted, pressing her legs together. 

.

After Judith handled that pressing matter she told the sheep she was also starving, having not even eaten dinner before she was taken from her home. Bellwether informed her she was about to attend breakfast too and led the rabbit to the kitchens.  
Judith had to hold back a moan as the scent of doughy bread and steaming vegetables filled her nostrils, though she was less pleased to see that some of the kitchen staff was predators.  
Bellwether and Judith got plates that had slices of bread and cabbage soup, Judith unable to help snatching a few baby carrots. They sat at an empty table, away from the other servants enjoying their breakfast. Judith took a few moments to scarf down the bread and carrots before starting a conversation with Bellwether.  
“Would it be okay if I helped you with your chores?” she asked the sheep. “I really don’t want to go back to that room.”  
Bellwether smirked at her pitiful tone, “I won’t say no to an offer of help, it’ll get my job done quicker. But first we are going to get you bathed and in a dress that fits the castle.”  
“Who’s your friend, Bellwether?” a new friendly voice spoke up.  
Judith looked up and nearly jumped out of her seat to see a chubby cheetah standing by their table, smiling widely all his sharp teeth on display.  
Bellwether nodded to the cheetah who was adorned in the outfit of a baker, “Clawhauser, this is Judith. She’s the king’s new…guest.”  
What an amusing term to use but she supposed until Nicholas decided what to do with her there was no other way to put it besides words like ‘gift’ or ‘tribute’.  
“Hello there,” Clawhauser friendly smile grew, “I heard the king got a bunny but I didn’t think you’d be so adorable.”  
Judy cringed, never liking that term of endearment from animals that weren’t rabbits. It made her feel more inferior than usual. But if she was being fair she doubted that was the cheetah’s intent.  
So she forced a polite smile on her lips, “A pleasure to meet you.” 

. 

It took Judith and Bellwether longer than expected to leave the kitchen, after finishing their breakfast Clawhauser, who had announced himself as the castle’s head baker, refused to let them leave. He had to show them his latest sweets, introduce Judith to the other cooks, and made the rabbit promise to come visit him.  
By the time she followed the sheep out of the kitchen Judith was pretty positive she had involuntarily made a friend out of a predator.  
Bellwether led the bunny downstairs to the bath area, not wanting to fetch the necessary buckets of hot water to fill one of the servants’ tubs she simply handed Judith a wet rag for her to wash of the dirt caked in her fur. While Judith did that the sheep fetched an old servant’s dress that was purple.  
“May as well look nice while slaving away to spoiled predators,” the sheep stated, throwing the dress to Judith who swiped to catch it before it hit the ground. Unlike her other dress this one was in better condition, no patches or dirt stains could be seen. Slipping it over her head she found it draped over her shoulders an inch and it completely covered her feet. She held up the skirts so she wouldn’t flinch as she followed Bellwether to the laundry room.  
“We’re fetching the clothes for the castle’s apothecary,” Bellwether told her, picking up a basket and indicating to Judith to grab the one beside it.  
Arms full of fresh smelling linen she followed Bellwether up one of the towers of the castle, she had met an apothecary in town but she had heard the Wilde family had a personal one who intended to the royal family, nobles, and their servants.  
The room was full of medicines, the air thick with herbs. Judith swallowed when she saw the apothecary, sitting at a desk and writing furiously. It was a jaguar.  
“Good morning, Manchas,” Bellwether greeted politely, placing the basket of laundry by the bed, Judith did the same. “Here is your clothes.”  
“Thank you,” the jaguar said distractedly, still scribbling. The two females made their way toward the door when Manchas shot his head up, nose twitching; he turned to look a them. Judith started when she saw that one of his eyes was sealed shut by three nasty look claw marks. His one working eye widened in surprise, “So the rumors were true. King Nicholas was given a rabbit as tribute.”  
Judith tried for a polite curtsy, “Pleased to m-meet you, sir. My name is Judith.”  
Manchas looked her up and down before turning back to his parchment, “Some mammals will do anything to please royalty.” With that final mutter he went back to work and Bellwether pulled Judith out of the room.  
The rest of the day was spent similar to that, Judith helped Bellwether with her chores whilst being introduced to random servants of the castle, thankfully not all of them were predators. Though she had to admit the prey to leave the biggest impact were the gardeners known as Bucky and Prong. One could hear their fervent arguments from across the castle.  
Judith spotted Nicholas only once; they passed an open door that looked like a meeting room, the fox pouring over a large piece of parchment, muttering something to a lynx who wore the clothes of a merchant. A guard spotted her peeping and closed the door with a disgusted snort. Though the rabbit had no qualms with staying away from the fox, even if last night had just been a joke it didn’t ease her fears of living with him. A cruel trickster would be no less likable than a bloodthirsty or lecherous, beast.  
But the sun went behind the trees and with it Judith’s luck.  
“Thank you for all your help,” Bellwether told the rabbit as they stopped before the king’s bedchamber. “I will see you tomorrow.”  
“Can’t I stay in your room tonight?” Judith begged, not wanting to go back into that dreadful room.  
The sheep smirked, “I live in the servants quarters, trust me, it’s crowded enough as it is. You wouldn’t be comfortable.”  
Bellwether was wrong; a crowded place was probably the one thing that could ease her nerves as she had slept in cramped rooms since the day she was born. But the sheep kept talking before Judith could say such. “Besides, Nicholas didn’t say you could move to the servants’ quarters. Best to stay here until he decides where to keep you… I like you Judith, but I’m not going to risk the new king’s anger for you.” With those final words she opened the door and urged the rabbit in, closing the door behind her.  
The first thing Judith noticed was that the room was empty, her bones sagged in relief. The second thing she noticed was a new piece of furniture. Curious she stepped toward where it stood by the fireplace, her jaw going slack.  
It was a bed fit for a rabbit.


	3. The Stormy Woods

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Judith hesitated, not knowing if she wanted to risk it. But then she remembered what King Nicholas had told her that morning, that tonight he would figure out what to do with her.

Nicholas was facing a new emotion he had not felt in years: Guilt.  
It was awful. But it had been swimming through his insides since after he had successfully slept off his hangover.  
While getting dressed for his first day as king his thoughts weren’t full of rules and regulations, trading and selling, wars and famine. It was on last night.  
He had been a complete and cruel ass to the rabbit. Yes, he had been sloshed but that was hardly an acceptable excuse to scare her like he did. Nicholas had never seen himself as an overly kind fox but it had been low of him to mock her fear of him, he was no better than predators who purposely scared prey.  
He let out a groan and walked out of his room. As he did his duties thoughts of the rabbit haunted his head, it took him a moment to realize he wanted to find a way to apologize to her, if only to get rid of this awful guilt hanging over him. So during lunch he asked a couple of servants to see if there was a rabbit sized bed in the servants quarters and if there was to sent it to his room. The servants did so, by their expressions he knew they were wondering why the rabbit was getting a place in his bedchamber but both knew better than to ask questions.  
The act of charity had eased his guilt and he managed to go about the rest of his day without interruption. His parents had turned in early so he didn’t have to worry about his mother badgering him with questions about what he would do with the prey that had plagued his thoughts for a good half of the day.  
When he finally returned to his bedchamber the rabbit was in the bed, curled into herself and fast asleep. The guilt eased a bit more as he wordlessly got ready for bed.  
Hours later he awoke with a yawn and stretch, noticing the rabbit was still asleep. He walked into his bath chamber and started to get ready for another day. When he walked out with freshly washed fur and his royal garbs on he blinked in surprise to see the rabbit was waiting for him.  
She still cringed under his look, “I-I wanted to say t-thank you, for the bed…b-before you left.” Showing gratitude to the fox was obviously not the easiest thing she had ever done.  
Nicholas shrugged, “It was not befitting for someone who lives in the Foxhollow to sleep on a couch or floor.”  
“I-I suppose not,” she replied softly, the confusion leaving her eyes. She believed that was the reason he had given her the bed and it was…partly.  
“What do you call yourself, rabbit?” he asked out of the blue.  
Her eyes widened but she quickly answered, “Judith Hopps…your Highness.”  
“Hmm,” Nicholas hummed.  
There was a knock on the door, “Your Highness, are you awake?”  
“Yes, Wolford,” Nicholas answered the guard. “What is it?”  
“We’ve just received a message that Queen Shenzi will be arriving for a visit.”  
The fox bit back an irritated snarl; he had met the hyena, ruler of the Grinningvale Region, before. She was always trying to get on animal’s bad sides, hiding her intent behind smiles and jokes, the last time she had visited was two years ago and she had tried to convince his parents to barter with some of Foxhollow’s most bountiful land. No doubt she was coming to try the same with Nicholas.  
“I’ll be there in a moment,” he called to the guard then looked down at the rabbit who had listened quietly.  
“Today is going to be busier than I planned,” he informed her. “Help Bellwether again and tonight we’ll decided what to do with you.” The bunny looked frightened by his final words but Nicholas ignored it.  
He walked over and opened the door, ushering her to go before him, she obeyed but with reluctance. When she finally passed him, keeping her eyes on the floor and her muscles tensed, he closed the door behind them and got ready to deal with a very annoying, for lack of a better term, bitch. 

.

When Judith told Bellwether who was coming the sheep took pity on her and sent her to the gardens, away from anywhere Shenzi might stalk. There was no telling how the hyena would react to Nicholas’s tribute but it was positive it wouldn’t be good.  
Judith didn’t argue, the large garden was easily the most beautiful thing of the Wilde castle and it reminded her of home.  
Bucky and Prong had no qualms with getting Judith to do one of the more hated jobs of gardening: the weeding.  
The rabbit crawled through the gardens, finding and pulling out weeds that snuck in between the roses and tulips. But as she did so Judith couldn’t help but she herself as the weed, getting violently ripped away from the Hopps family. The thought made her stomach sick.  
But it was for the best, she reminded herself as she walked deeper into the garden’s thick hedges and bushes and trees, leaving the sight of Bucky and Prong who were busy arguing as usual. Everyone’s safe now.  
And it wasn’t like you fit in anyway.  
The sudden thought stalled Judith. She fit in with her family, right? She tried comparing herself to her mothers and sisters; she recalled that Rose was currently being courted by a rabbit from the Leap family farm not too far away from the Hopps burrow.  
Judith had never been crazy over the thought of marrying a rabbit and leaving her family, she wasn’t against the thought of romance she just….wasn’t interested.  
But Judith knew the one time she truly stood one amongst her many, many siblings was when she was a child. She had wanted to be different, she hadn’t wanted to guard the farm she had wanted to protect it from bandits, she wanted to stand up against any arrogant predator that tried to take her family’s livelihood and that included Gideon Grey and Nicholas Wilde. Her paw trailed up to caress her cheek, she winced; things were different now.  
Judith slipped into some hedges, feeling sharps branches poke at her dress as her nose twitched, trying to hunt any more hidden weeds. Poking her head out on the other side of the bush to come face to face with the wall that was wrapped around the garden, shutting it off from the rest of the Region, and it had a hole in it.  
Judith crawled out of the hedge to get a better look at the hole, it wasn’t large, an area of stone having crumbled away due to time and negligence.  
She peered through it and noticed two things, one was that on the other side of the wall stood a forest and a trail that led to the villages, the other thing she noticed was that it was just big enough for her to slip through.  
She could escape.  
Judith hesitated, not knowing if she wanted to risk it. But then she remembered what King Nicholas had told her that morning, that tonight he would figure out what to do with her. It was cruel of her, she knew, to assume the worst after he had actually given her the bed, the only bed she had ever had. But he could’ve been trying to trick her, trying to make her let her down guard for…whatever he planned to do with her. Judith just couldn’t trust him.  
“Rabbit?” Bucky’s voice spoke as he made his way toward her through the hedges and that made up Judith’s mind.  
She slipped through the hole and ran just as Bucky came up behind her.  
“What are you doing?” he called through the hole too big enough to fit through, “Get back here! You can’t leave!”  
Watch me, Judith thought to herself, dashing away from the castle wall. She looked to the trail that would take her back to Bunnyburrow. She longed for her family but she knew she could still not go, not with Gideon Grey there. So instead she turned left and headed toward the woods, not knowing those specific woods passed the territory of Foxhollow. 

.

Nicholas watched as Queen Shenzi sipped daintily from her cup of mead, sitting across from the fox at the dinning table. Next to Nicholas sat his mother who wanted to be by her son’s side to offer him confidence until he got the knack of being king.  
The hyena sat with her advisor who also happened to be her brother, behind her stood a handful of guards she had brought along with him. Nicholas kept his guards outside the door, it was a show of confidence showing the queen that he held no fear of her turning on him in his castle.  
Shenzi placed the cup down and smiled sweetly at Nicholas, it didn’t fool the fox for a second. “So, Nicholas, how is life as a king?”  
“Average,” Nicholas replied, his eye lids drooped and his entire posture bored.  
Shenzi chuckled softly, “What a shame, there’s nothing I hate more than a dull life.”  
“I couldn’t say I agreed,” the fox’s eyes narrowed, suspicious that she’d use his words to pick a fight. “So what do I owe the pleasure of your company, my lady?”  
“Oh, you can call me Shenzi,” the hyena waved away his formality. “And I came to tell you of something amazing I found out. You see, I was going through some old archives of my ancestors and read about a holy object. I was curious on why it wasn’t in our treasury and after a little more digging I found out my great, great, great, grandfather had been traveling with it when he was visiting Foxhollow. Tragically when he was returning home he was ambushed by vicious bandits near the Nectar Forest and killed…his body was retrieved but not the object.”  
Nicholas could at least appreciate she didn’t waste much time in getting to her point. “I am sorry to heart that.”  
“I have reason to believe said object is still near Nectar Forest and I was hoping you would let some of my soldiers search for it.”  
Nicholas noticed his mother’s tail bristling under her chair but he smiled at the hyena, “I would hate to leave something with such history rotting in the woods. But no need to inconvenience your soldiers, give me a description and my soldiers would be more than happy to search for you.”  
He noticed Shenzi’s eye twitch but her smile stayed in place, “That is a very generous offer but…forgive me but I’m not completely comfortable with mammals of Foxhollow putting their paws on an object sacred to us of Grinningvale.”  
Ignoring the obvious insult the wheels in Nicholas’s head turn, trying to figure out a solution that the hyena couldn’t resist instead of out right saying no, he would not let her soldiers roam Nectar Forest. This was all a ploy to get into Foxhollow territory, she might as well openly admit that she planned on taking his land from him.  
But before any more words could be shared the door opened a crack and in slipped Wolford who hurried to Nicholas’s side.  
“Sorry to bother you, Your Highness,” the wolf whispered into the fox’s ears so the hyena couldn’t hear him. “But the gardeners just informed me your tribute has escaped.”  
Nicholas glanced at the wolf, hiding his surprise and slight…he supposed disappointment. He supposed he had been subconsciously intrigued at the thought of having a rabbit servant. After all that was the one mammal he had never truly been around. She had made him curious, that was all.  
“Leave her be,” he whispered back to the wolf. “She probably is returning to Bunnyburrow.” He would let her go to her family if she was so desperate to escape.  
But Wolford looked at him with worry, “No, Sire. The gardeners saw her run away…she ran into the Stormy Woods.”  
“SHE DID WHAT!?”  
Nicholas’s yell had the entire room jumping with a start. Shenzi and his mother staring at him with wide eyes and Nicholas quickly offered the two females an apologetic look.  
“Excuse me, Shenzi,” Nicholas stood up. “There’s something I must attend to it shouldn’t be long. I will have one of my bakers send up sweets for you while you wait.”  
He lead Wolford out of the room, his mother following after them.  
“Why did she go to the Stormy Woods?” Nicholas snarled at the guard as soon as the door shut behind them. “Doesn’t she know who lives in there?” He answered his own question, “Obviously not.”  
Nicholas started pacing around, running his claws over his ears. What was he to do? He had a greedy hyena waiting for him but odds are that rabbit would die if he didn’t send someone after her.  
The only problem was some of his guards were busy in villages or on a day off and the ones he did have he needed to guard Shenzi and her pack. He looked to Wolford, “Manchas used to live in those woods, he can go fetch her.”  
“Manchas is out buying supplies and visiting friends, Your Highness,” the wolf answered. “He said he will not be back until late tonight.”  
A growl rumbled out of Nicholas’s throat, “Maybe I should just leave her to fate.”  
“Nicholas!” his mother, who had been quiet until now, gasped in horror. She glared at her son with the look she had used when he was a misbehaving kit. “I’m surprised at you! You can’t leave that poor thing out there on her own.”  
“It was her choice Mother,” Nicholas told her. “And I have a hyena in there trying to take Nectar Forest, one of the main reasons we prosper the way we do.”  
“I will handle Shenzi,” her mother said. “You go get that rabbit. She was taken from home, Nicholas, she is frightened. But the moment you accepted her as a gift she became your responsibility.”  
My mistake, Nicholas grumbled in his mind before nodding and stomping down the hallway. He had no time to waste.


	4. Lord Big

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lord Big narrowed his eyes at the fox, “King Nicholas…what do I owe this unnatural visit?”  
> Nicholas kept his eyes on Judith, the emerald gaze still indecipherable, “I’m here because she’s here. And she belongs to me.”

The farther Judith walked in these woods the colder it got. Eventually the trees lost their leaves, the grass crackled with frost and her breath was mist.  
Judith wrapped her arms around herself as she continued to walk. She knew these woods were on the border of other Regions, she would have to start over in one of them. She was a hard worker and knew how to grow the best of crops; surely it shouldn’t be too hard to find a new job.  
And surely King Nicholas won’t try to hunt me down, Judith was just a rabbit. She wasn’t valuable. Though a part of her feared he would replace her with one of her own from Bunnyburrow, but it was too late to go back now. Judith couldn’t return to her family with Gideon Grey there and she doubted if she went back to the castle she would be welcomed with open arms.  
Her only place to go was forward.  
Her ears lifted up as she caught the sound of running water, there was a river nearby. Wanting a drink of water Judith followed the noise until the trees broke away to reveal what she had been looking for, she shivered slightly when she saw the ice caking the shore, no doubt that water was freezing.  
A small voice had Judith turning her head to the right, blinking in surprise she spotted a shrew. It was a very pretty shrew; she was wearing a beautiful ice blue dress and was gazing at her reflection in the water. The rabbit looked at the rock she was standing on with suspicion, it looked awfully slippery.  
Judith crept forward, quiet so as not to startle the shrew, before clearing her throat, “Excuse me?”  
Unfortunately Judith’s stealthy approach wasn’t the best of plans for the shrew let out a gasp of surprise and whirled around, losing her balance on the icy rock. With a terrified shriek she fell into the river with a splash.  
Immediately Judith was running toward the river, not even hesitating before she dove into the water, just as she expected it was freezing and hit her like a punch in the gut. She pushed her head above the surface and swam along with the current, glad her elder brothers taught her to swim, seeing the shrew’s small head as she tried to keep above the water, her shrieking shrill and breaking into spluttering.  
“Hold on!” Judith called out and forced her limbs to move faster, her bones aching from the sheer cold. Just as she reached the shrew she sunk under the surface, Judith dived down, forcing her eyes open against the cold and spotting a brown blur. She reached her paw out, kicking her legs to get closer and closer until at last she gripped the shrew in her paw. Clutching her to her chest Judith used her free arm and feet to paddle up and break the surface, taking in a gulp of air that stung her lungs.  
She quickly headed back to the bank, her teeth chattering and being sure to keep the unconscious shrew’s head above water. The rabbit let out a cry of relief when her feet brushed the bank and she crawled out of the freezing river, crawling across the sand and not stopping until she reached the prickly grass.  
Even though Judith longed to lie down and sleep she instead placed the shrew on the ground, noticing how her belly was round. She was pregnant.  
Panic rising anew she held her up and patted her back, letting out a gasp of relief as the shrew coughed up a lungful of water, when her gagging subsided Judith ran her paws over the shrew’s small arms, back and belly, trying to rub warmth back into her cold body. All the while Judith ignored the aching of her ears and limbs from the cold water and air.  
The shrew was finally starting to warm up, her eyes blinking open, when a sword suddenly appeared in Judith’s vision, resting just under her chin. Shocked the rabbit looked up with wide eyes to see a polar bear in black garments and cloak, glaring down at Judith with steely eyes, behind him stood two more polar bears, smaller but no less intimidating.  
“Step away from Lady Fru Fru,” the predator growled, flashing his large fangs and Judith’s heart stopped. And she had thought Gideon and Nicholas were terrifying. When the bunny didn’t move the tip of the sword pressed against her neck and Judith forced herself not to swallow. “I said step away.”  
“W-Wait!” the shrew suddenly gasped, rising onto shaking limbs, her body shivering. “Don’t Kozlov! S-she saved my life! And my baby’s!”  
Kozlov sheathed his sword and knelt before the Lady Fru Fru, picking her up with daintiness, “You are as cold as death, my Lady. We must return you to your father.”  
“B-bring her,” she begged, pointing to Judith. “Don’t l-leave her here.”  
Kozlov nodded to one of the other polar bears who walked over and picked up Judith with little fanfare, the rabbit letting out a squeak of fright as the large clawed paws grabbed her. Besides her shivering she tried to stay perfectly still while he wrapped his cloak around her and followed Kozlov through the forest. All the while trying to keep her heart from pounding up her throat, of course when she ran away from one predator she ended up with an even bigger one.  
She wasn’t sure how much time had passed before the leafless trees gave way to a clearing. In said clearing where a series of small wooden cabins, each had windows glowing with the warmth of firelight. And in the heart of the clearing stood the largest cabin of them all, it looked to be two stories and that is where the polar bears were taking Judith and Lady Fru Fru.  
The rabbit had to hold back a moan of relief when they stepped through the threshold of the cabin and the cold air was replaced by delicious warm. She noticed the three polar bears walking past a sort of living room, a group of polar bears, arctic shrews, and a few other miscellaneous prey sitting near a fire place, chatting pleasantly to one another and a few drinking bowls of soup.  
The sight of the roaring fire and food nearly had Judith slipping out of the bear’s claws to join the group, but she stayed put.  
She was carried into a room where a large desk stood in the middle, a fireplace on the far way and what looked to be a fur rug. On the desk stood a male shrew was pacing in a frantic manner, he stopped and looked to the polar bears as they entered the room.  
“Daddy,” Lady Fru Fru spoke in a quiet and still shaky voice. She was placed on the desk and the older shrew immediately pulled her into a desperate embrace, his shoulders shaking.  
“What were you thinking running off like that,” he pulled away and looked her down. “Why are you wet?”  
“She fell into the river, Lord Big,” Kozlov rumbled.  
The shrew gaped at his daughter, Fru Fru shrunk under his gaze. “I’m sorry Daddy, I just couldn’t stand being cooped up in here. You never let me go out for even a walk.”  
“And now you see why,” he snapped, “You and my unborn grandchild would’ve drowned if Kozlov hadn’t found you in time.”  
“It wasn’t us, my Lord,” the bear interrupted. “It was this rabbit.”  
The shrew’s blue eyes looked down at Judith who had been placed on the floor, she did her best curtsy she could manage while she had her arms wrapped around herself, still cold despite the warm room.  
“It’s true, Daddy,” Fru Fru spoke up. “She jumped in and saved me.”  
“What is your name, child,” Lord Big asked the bunny.  
“J-Judith, sir,” she answered.  
“You have my sincere gratitude, my dear Judith.” He seemed to notice her shivery, “Kozlov, please give my daughter’s savior your cloak so she will not catch her death of cold.”  
The bear obeyed, throwing the large cloak over Judith’s shoulder, she instantly wrapped the thick, warm fabric around her. Meanwhile Lord Big was taking off his own cloak and wrapping it around his daughter.  
“Shall I bring you and Lady Fru Fru a meal, my lord?” Kozlov asked and the shrew nodded, asking him to bring something for the rabbit as well.  
Judith found herself sitting in front of the large fireplace with the two shrews, sipping from a bowl of vegetable soup.  
“What were you doing in the Stormy Woods, Judith?” Lord Big asked of her, sitting close to his daughter who smiled up at the rabbit. “I know of every animal that lives in this forest.”  
“I…I was leaving Foxhollow,” she explained. “I plan on going to a different Region and starting over.”  
“Why would you need to start over?”  
Judith’s ears fell across her shoulders; she didn’t know how much she could share with these two near-strangers. Fru Fru looked to her father, “What does it matter? If she hadn’t needed to start over she wouldn’t have been there to save me.”  
Her father glared at her, “I’m still quite angry with you, child.”  
Fru Fru sighed and looked up at Judith, “Ever since I started carrying child my father refuses to let me do anything on my own.”  
“I have many things to do,” Lord Big reminded her. “I have a village to watch over I don’t need my reckless daughter running off without even an escort.”  
Judith cocked her head to the side, “You watch over this village?”  
The shrew nodded, “Yes, as you must know life as a prey is…not always ideal, living under the rule of predators, thought I will admit Foxhollow is not as awful as others. I was one such, my wife and I lived under the rule of a vicious jackal in Kingsland. When my wife became pregnant with my daughter I had decided enough was enough and we left, finding shelter here in Stormy Woods. While I was here I came across a pack of polar bears run by a large tyrant, feeling pity for them I used my small size to sneak into the bear’s camp while the beast was asleep.” He turned to look at the fireplace, the light flickering in his blue eyes, “I slid his throat. The other polar bears were so relieved they wanted to repay me and so we made this village together, a place for other prey who were being mistreated by predators.” He let out a soft sigh, “Tragically my wife passed away bringing my daughter into this world.”  
Fru Fru placed a paw over her father’s, resting her head on his shoulder.  
“I’m sorry for your loss,” Judith breathed, “But it is truly amazing what you have done. I wish I was as brave.”  
Lord Big gave her a queer look, “You jumped into a freezing river to save a mammal you didn’t know, I hardly would call that cowardice.  
Judith smiled softly but she didn’t count her rescue as something as incredible as bringing down a large predator when he was only a small prey. But then she suddenly realized something.  
“Where is your mate?” Judith asked Fru Fru, wondering why he wouldn’t be here to check on his wife and unborn child.  
Grief flashed in Fru Fru’s eyes and she looked to the fireplace, “He passed away a few days before I found out I was pregnant. Daddy and I are good at finding true love…just not as keeping it safe.”  
“I’m so sorry,” Judith quickly apologized; guilty for bringing up what was obviously a painful memory so soon after hearing that her mother had passed.  
“Thank you,” the female shrew replied and smiled up at the rabbit. In that moment a kindred feeling sparked between the two, even if they had barely shared a few words an understanding formed and Judith knew she had found a new friend.  
But just then there was a knock on the door and a polar bear she didn’t recognize peeked his head in, “Lord Big?”  
“What is it?” the shrew stood up, noting the bear’s nervous expression.  
“We have a visitor, he wishes to speak with you.”  
“Send him in,” Lord Big ordered, nodding the bear closed the door and retreated.  
“I expect you don’t get many of those,” Judith asked, looking at his confused expression.  
“My polar bears are good at keeping a cutthroat reputation in order to keep malicious animals out. And only so many mammals know of me…”  
The door opened again, the same polar bear and Kozlov walking in, and just behind them waltzed in Nicholas Wilde.  
Judith’s ears shot up and her eyes bulged as she watched the fox walk around the desk to stand before her and the two shrews, Lord Big obviously knew him if his expression was anything to go by.  
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Lord Big,” Nicholas nodded regally.  
“Prince Wilde,” the shrew returned the nod.  
Nicholas smiled easily, “It’s king now, actually.” His head suddenly shriveled toward Judith who jumped to her feet. The fox’s green eyes were unreadable as he spoke, “There you are; I’ve been looking all over for you.”  
Judith swallowed.  
Lord Big narrowed his eyes at the fox, “King Nicholas…what do I owe this unnatural visit?”  
Nicholas kept his eyes on Judith, the emerald gaze still indecipherable, “I’m here because she’s here. And she belongs to me.”  
Judith could only stare at him with wide eyes, just barely noticing how her heart picked up its pace.  
Lord Big narrowed his eyes at the fox, “Belongs to you?”  
“She’s my ward,” Nicholas explained, turning back to the shrew with his trouble-free grin. “My responsibility.”  
Since when? Judith thought but stayed quiet.  
“She told me she was running from Foxhollow to start anew in a different Region,” Lord Big replied, his expression suspicious.  
Nicholas looked over to the rabbit, his expression pleasantly surprised but Judith was sure it was a mask. “Why would you need to do that, Judith?”  
“I…uh…”  
“Which Region did you want to go to?”  
“I’m-I’m not sure…”  
“I know you come from a family of farmers but it would not be easy to find a farming job in other Regions, Foxhollow is the most prosperous when it comes to growing crops.”  
“I…”  
Nicholas smiled, “How about I take you back to the castle? You can have a good night’s sleep, you look exhausted, and then tomorrow we can talk over this ‘starting anew’ business.”  
Lord Big still look wary of the fox, “She can stay here if she wishes.”  
Judith felt gratitude and affection to the shrew but Nicholas gave him an unsure look, “You have enough animals to care for, my lord. I will not throw my responsibilities on your shoulders.” He walked over to stand next to Judith, the rabbit tensing as she felt his body heat, “But it is clear you have become fond of her and you and your daughter are free to visit her. However now it is getting late and I was in the middle of a meeting before she left.”  
He nodded to Lord Big again, “But you have my sincere gratitude for watching over my ward. I hope our paths cross again.” He grabbed Judith’s wrist, the bunny’s heart sky-rocketing with nerves as she was led out of the room before she could speak.

.

The walk back to the castle was a silent one, Nicholas didn’t ask her any questions and Judith’s tongue felt like it was frozen to the roof of her mouth. All the while Nicholas kept a firm grip on her paw.  
When they reached the castle none of the mammals they passed looked surprised to see her again, even Bellwether gave her a pitying smirk as they passed her in the hallway. They stopped before Nicholas’s bedchamber door. “Have you eaten?” his voice was quiet, calm.  
She nodded, “They-they fed me.”  
“Good,” he opened the door and gently pushed her inside. “Stay in there, a guard will be posted at the door. We’ll talk when I get back.”  
Despite that he didn’t slam the door when he closed it Judith felt a wave of dread bring her to her knees. 

.

Pushing thoughts of that rabbit, that female, out of his head Nicholas walked back to the dinning room where his mother and Shenzi still sat; sipping from cups of tea, both looked relieved to see him walk in.  
“Sorry about that,” he apologized to the hyena, “I had some matters…to deal with.”  
“Yes, your pet,” Shenzi grinned in amusement, “A rabbit, is she not?”  
Nicholas blinked then glanced at his mother with a question in his eye. She mouthed: “Eavesdropped.” Why wasn’t the fox surprised?  
“I must say,” the hyena stood up and walked over to Nicholas. “It’s a little disconcerting that a king of an entire Region can’t control one measly little prey.”  
Nicholas smiled at the insult, “I assure you it won’t happen again. Now, I had that preposition for you, regarding that artifact in the Nectar Forest.”  
Shenzi’s eyes gleamed with interest, “Go on.”  
“I understand the importance of a Region’s heirloom. But I also understand to keep my citizens as satisfied as possible and no doubt your soldiers could unnerve a few. So, you can send your archeologists or what have you to the border of our territory where my most trustworthy of soldiers will safely escort them to the Nectar Forest and help them search. Only your animals will touch the artifact and once you find it my animals will safely escort them out of Foxhollow. Everyone wins.”  
Shenzi’s eyes narrowed into slits when she couldn’t find a kink in Nicholas’s plan. Finally she spoke, “I will talk to my council, see what they think of this. Until then it is late and I long for my home. Good evening to you, King Nicholas.”  
“And a farewell to you, Queen Shenzi,” Nicholas replied, glad that he was able to keep the smugness out of his tone as he escorted the hyena out the door, his mother’s proud gaze warming his back. 

.

Judith was sitting on her small bed, the quilt wrapped around herself. Her ears shot up as the door opened and in walked Nicholas.  
She slipped off her bed and stood up straight, trying to appear brave. However the fox didn’t even glance at her as he walked to his wardrobe where he deposited his cape. He let out an exhausted sigh afterwards, rubbing the back of his neck with one paw.  
“Um…” Judith started to speak. And immediately wished she hadn’t.  
Nicholas whirled around so sharply his tail smacked against his legs, his green eyes like fiery pits as he glared at her with such anger the rabbit almost raced out to the balcony with the purpose of jumping off. But somehow she managed to keep her feet still.  
Nicholas took a step forward but then stopped, as if he didn’t trust himself to get too close to her. He sucked in a breath, clasped his paws together, the smack of his paw pads echoing in the chamber, and then he smiled.  
“How was your day?” he asked in a sickly sweet voice.  
Judith only stared at him.  
“That boring, hm? Well, let me tell you about my day. I was woken up with the news that a greedy hyena who doesn’t even try to hide that she wants my land has requested a meeting. I’m sitting there, trying to figure out how to subtly tell her that I will not part with one leaf of my forests when one of my guards gives me a message. This rabbit, who has been fed, clothed, even given a bed in my chamber, a rabbit that was treated fairly as far as I am concerned, has ran away. At first I was more than content to just let her go home to Bunnyburrow with her fluffy wuffy tail between her legs. But no, like the dumb bunny she apparently is, she goes to Stormy Woods, a place known to be full of cutthroats and other dangerous animals that could easily kill her or worse. And while I was willing to actually be a good king and worry about the safety of my citizens over hers my mother told me she was my responsibility,” he said the word like it was a vile illness. “So I had to cut my meeting with this greedy, slightly psychotic hyena short and walk through a freezing cold forest to find this bunny. Turns out she was living with a prey who I know isn’t overly fond of any predators that aren’t polar bears and now I’ve given him permission to visit my home whenever he wishes so I could bring this rabbit back. And now that hyena thinks I can’t handle one prey and the proposition I gave her will only hold her at bay for so long.”  
He suddenly walked over to Judith, his shadow leering over her. “The point is, I lost what little reputation I had to a queen, invite that shrew to come to my castle and no doubt rob me blind if not try to take over, and now I’m exhausted and freezing all because I had to fetch you.”  
Judith shrunk into herself, “I-I’m sorry.” It was all she could think to say.  
“Not yet you aren’t,” Nicholas growled with a flash of fangs. He glared over at the fireplace that was nothing but glowing embers, throwing shadows against his russet fur. “You know, I was probably only going to make you a little servant, clean or cook or some such, maybe even tend the gardens, hell maybe I would’ve even let you go. But such options have been burned to ashes. It’s clear I have to keep you caged like a pet and so a pet you will be.”  
He turned his venomous eyes on her, his teeth bared, “To celebrate your idiotic mistake I’ll give you a pet name…And I personally fancy the name ‘Carrots’.”


	5. The King's Ward

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Her heart pattered in panic at what those words could mean, she turned toward his bed that could easily fit a fox and rabbit, her terror rose. “You-you said I was ugly!”

“Should I ask,” Finnick looked at his friend who sat next to him at the breakfast table, across from them Maxmilian and Amelia wisely stayed quiet.

Nicholas smiled cheerfully at his small friend that had come for a visit, “Ask what my dear Finnick?”

The smaller fox’s brow furrowed, “Clearly the pressure of ruling a Region has already gotten to you.” He looked toward the former and king and queen, “He’s become barking mad.”

“How insensitive,” Nicholas still bared his teeth in a fake smile. “What makes you say that?”

The three foxes’ eyes glanced at the spot to Nicholas’ right.

Judith sat in a small seat that had been placed at the head of the table next to the king’s seat. The slightly shivering bunny shrunk under the gazes staring down at the plate of vegetables that had been given to her, having not touched them. Her ears draped down her back and her paws were splayed on the table, blunt nails digging into the find wood. On her left wrist was a thin yet strong rope that stretched a few inches to connect to Nicholas’ wrist.

The fox king was more dramatic than he let on, by proving she was now his pet he had actually put her on a leash. Judith had been roughly woken up that morning, a clawed paw shaking her shoulder and a few years of her life had been frightened away when she opened her eyes and the first thing she saw were claws.

And then before she was fully awake King Nicholas was tying the rope around her wrist with a mocking grin curling his muzzle, Judith wisely had stayed mute all this morning.

“Nicholas,” his mother spoke up, “I know I said she’s your responsibility but this is a little extreme don’t you think?”

“She’s my ward,” Nicholas said with bitterness. “I’ll do with her as I see fit.”

Amelia’s eyes narrowed but she didn’t say more, turning her glare back to her plate. Maxmilian and Finnick didn’t comment and the meal went on in agonizing silence.

.

After the breakfast that Judith did not touch she was led around the castle by the fox, keeping in his shadow, trying to keep as much distance as possible without the rope dipping into her skin.

Nicholas’s first duty of the day was meeting with a few mammals for trading arrangements. It was held out in the courtyard, several merchants and landlords (thankfully none of them Gideon Grey) standing with carts full of crops and other such merchandise ready to be taken across the Foxhollow borders to be sold and traded to the other Regions.

Nicholas examined the carts, having words with the merchants that Judith tried to follow, reminders to bring the finest goods to the Region’s royal family, caution to bandits on the road, and to keep an eye out for any animals Grinningvale, the one Region they would not be trading too.

Judith did not think alienating the Region like that would help the hostility but she didn’t voice her opinion, it was not like the fox would take her words into consideration and the less he turned those venomous green eyes to her the better.

Time seemed to fly by and by the time the merchants were given their instructions and left the castle courtyard Judith’s stomach growled loudly. Her ears flushed pink and she ducked her head when Nicholas glanced toward her.

“Maybe next time you’ll eat when food is placed in front of you, _Carrots_ ,” he pointed out bitingly, “But fortune is shining down on you today because it is time for lunch.” He turned abruptly and Judith was nearly dragged across the ground before her feet could move to follow after. Fortune was probably the last thing gazing down at her.

But she heeded his words and didn’t stall in devouring the meal that was placed in front of her, holding back an appreciative moan at the delicious steamed carrots and potatoes. Judith supposed, looking on the optimistic side, she would at least never go hungry while being the pet of a king. Which was more than some of the families in Bunnyburrow could say.

The thought made her slowly place her fork on the table, staring at the meal before her guiltily. Nicholas, who had been eating his meal with all the mannerisms of one raised in royalty, looked toward her. “What is it?”

Judith wanted to convince herself that being well fed was her reward for becoming tribute to the king, but all she could think were the days when her parents and older siblings had to go hungry so the younger ones could eat. Gideon Grey always took so much of the harvest, always made them give up so much money they managed to get when selling the crops they did keep.

Judith shoved the plate away; the guilt churning in her stomach and making her feel nauseous.

Nicholas snorted, “Fine then; starve. You’re not heavy; I could easily drag your malnourished body around the castle.”

Judith said nothing as he finished his meal.

.

The rest of the day was Nicholas spent at his desk, Judith sitting on the floor beside his chair, leaning against the wooden leg and trying not to fall asleep out of sheer boredom. She listening to the scratching of pen on parchment, counted the seams on her dress, thought about all the fairy tales of foxes she had heard as a child, her favorite was about the foolish fox who tried to dive into a rabbit’s burrow and got stuck-he then starved to death and died.

Her ears that had been causally splayed across her shoulders lifted up toward the ceiling as she heard humming. Being careful not to move her head Judith looked from the corner of her eye up toward the fox who was still scribbling who knew what on the thick mounds of paper. He was the one humming, and to the bunny’s infinite surprise, it was an old lullaby she had known growing up. Her mother and older sisters had sung it to the children many a night to help them get to sleep. And it was the most bizarre thing to know that, just maybe, this fox had drifted off to sleep with the same song flowing through his ears.

.

He finished his paperwork with vocal relief and headed off to enjoy dinner with his parents who still seemed awkward about Judith being there but Nicholas’ attitude had improved since that morning and had a pleasant conversation with his father. Judith mournfully stared at her food, forcing herself a few bites when she saw Amelia looking at her with open concern, she didn’t want the vixen’s attention to bring Nicholas’ eyes back toward her, and she suppose if she starved to death her sacrifice would be in vain.

.

Judith ended up finally speaking to him when she realized, after dinner, that they were heading back to his bedchamber. “You’re going to sleep?”

He gave her a weird look over her shoulder as they walked, “Yes.”

“But you barely did anything today!” she hadn’t mean it to sound so insulting.

Nicholas’ eyes grew defensive, “Some days are slower than others, Carrots.”

He opened the door to his chamber, Judith ready to finally get the detestable rope off her wrist and go to bed. But stepping inside she saw her bed had vanished, she looked up at the fox with wide eyes.

He smugly smirked at her, “I had some of my servants take it back down to the servant’s quarters.” Judith recalled him whispering to a wolf and rhino in the hallway but she hadn’t paid attention to what he was saying.

“Is-is that where I’m staying?”

He chuckled harshly, “Of course not, you’re still staying here with me and we’re not going to be separated any time soon.”

Her heart pattered in panic at what those words could mean, she turned toward his bed that could easily fit a fox and rabbit, her terror rose. “You-you said I was ugly!”

He broke into a bark of laughter, “That I did, don’t let your imagination run away with you, Carrots. We’ll only sleep. But first,” he dragged her toward the door that led to his bathroom, opening it she saw the tub was full of steaming hot water. “You’re going to bath, you smell repugnant.”

.

An hour later Judith was curled at the very edge of the bed, mortification still heating up her fur while on the other side of the bed Nicholas slept soundly.

He had let her keep her modesty, turning his back while she bathed but the fact he was in the room with her, still connected to her by the dreadful rope, was enough to hurry and scrub herself clean not taking time to enjoy the pleasantly warm water. She quickly pulled on the nightgown that he told her had been donated by Bellwether, seeing as the ewe was bigger than her the ivory gown went past her feet.

Ears pink she followed Nicholas out of the bathroom as he changed into his night clothes without so much as a warning, the bunny covering her eyes with her paws as he did so. And then he had slipped into his bed and went to sleep almost immediately, Judith laid as far away as the rope would allow without becoming uncomfortable.

“Why must you do this?” she had begged softly when the fox was turning toward his bed, “Surely you don’t want to share your bed with a peasant.”

His green eyes seemed to glow as he looked at her and grabbed the rope to pull her closer, his warm breath fluttering across her nose and making it twitch.

“This is punishment,” he breathed, his fangs glinting in the dim room, “You fear me and if the day comes you no longer due I will happily kick you out of my bed until then, think carefully on what the consequences of your actions will be.”

Judith buried her face into the pillow that carried the king’s musk and cried.


	6. The Fellowship Festival

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “I’m here to hunt someone down,” he whispered to her so no bystanders would overhear. “I’ve been getting reports that a mad wolf has been lurking around this village and trying to attack animals. I need to find him before he hurts someone.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for such a long wait.

Judith’s ears twitched as she heard the chamber door open and she slid her sleep-crusted eyes open and sat up. Looking over her shoulder the first thing she noticed was Nicholas, still sleeping peacefully, and then she looked to the door to see Bellwether walking in with an empty basket. The sheep’s eyes widened when she spotted the rabbit in the fox’s bed.

Judith’s ears flushed red and wanted to exclaim that this wasn’t what it appeared to be but she didn’t want to wake Nicholas up, fearing his early morning wrath.

Bellwether turned her attention on her chores, silently picking up the clothes Nicholas had left on the floor and disappearing into the bathroom to fetch her own gown; before she left the room she gave Judith another inquisitive look before vanishing. Judith pulled her knees up to her legs, knowing there was no hope in going back to sleep and with the sun starting to peek out the trees outside she knew Nicholas would be up soon enough.

Her eyes drifted to the vulpine, noticing how sleep softened his features, made him look younger-almost kit-like.

 _It is a wonder he does not already have a bed mate_ , Judith thought to herself, seeing the sunlight turn his russet fur gold. _He is the most handsome fox_ I’ve _ever seen_.

She quickly shook her head of the thought, she’d only seen two foxes in her life and the other was Gideon Grey. A toad would be more attractive than him.

Judith recalled the fairy tales that warned that pretty faces can hide black hearts; she glared at the sleeping fox. That fairy tale was fact where he was concerned.

Suddenly Nicholas made a noise related to a snore and rolled over, his long snout now resting on Judith’s thigh.

The bunny tensed, her ears flushing red and fur bristling, trapped because the last thing she wanted was to wake the fox up and let him see the position they were in. This would be an incredibly long imprisonment.

.

“The Fellowship Festival?”

Judith sat in the royal carriage next to Nicholas, the fox’s tail a wall between them. Nicholas had his legs crossed, his chin resting on his wrist as he watched the passing country side out the window.

“It’s a festival to celebrate the harmony between predator and prey,” he answered without looking at her, his tone dry.

“Why are we going?” she asked, he didn’t look excited at the prospect.

“Kingly duties,” Nicholas waved his paw, “Nothing for you to be concerned about.”

Judith didn’t reply, but it had been many days since she and Nicholas had been bound by the wrist, and despite herself the bunny was fascinated by what it took to run a kingdom. While she had been pretending otherwise Judith had listened attentively to all the meetings, read over his shoulder as he wrote decrees (though she kept it a secret from the fox that she could read).

Her mind raced with possibilities as the carriage drew closer to the town that would hold the festival, trying to deduce what ‘duties’ would bring the king here. Judith hoped he wasn’t there to disband the festival, it sounded fun but she doubted the fox would enjoy rubbing elbows with prey.

When the carriage came to a halt Nicholas grabbed Judith’s wrist without ceremony and led her out of the carriage, time with the fox was making her less jumpy around him which she was grateful.

As soon as the two stepped out of the carriage Judith was surrounded by noise and color.

While Nicholas talked to his guards Judith stared in awe at the many prey and predators that danced around the cobblestone streets, singing and drinking and mingling as if they weren’t as different as night and day.

Her ear twitched when she caught some of Nicholas’ words to the guards: “Keep a close eye out, keep your swords at hand.” The rabbit looked over her shoulder to see the guards moving off into the crowd, their faces serious and eyes searching, her stomach dropped in dread.

Nicholas returned to her side but before she could decide if it was worth asking him what was wrong a dark-furred cougar in the attire of a jester appeared. Grinning and singing some festive song she did not know the cougar grabbed Judith’s paws and spun her around with him, unknowingly tangling her up in the rope. He released her quite suddenly and danced a bit around Nicholas, his face far too close to the royal’s muzzle but the fox just silently glared at him until the cougar skipped off.

Meanwhile the spinning had left her dizzy with the rope wound around her legs, Judith’s arms flailed desperately as she started to fall but Nicholas placed a paw on her back and pushed her back onto her feet.

“You’d best get used to that,” he advised her while slowly spinning her counter-clockwise. “All Wanderers are like that during this festival.”

“Wanderers?”

“Animals whose only home is the open road,” he explained, leading her into the crowd once her legs were freed. “They never stay in one place too long, and it’s always a mixed pack, never a prey without a predator.”

“It sounds like an adventure,” Judith commented but her words received a sarcastic snort. “What?”

“Like you’d purposefully travel and share tents with predators like tigers and bears. You can barely handle being near a fox.”

 _Well those tigers and bears are probably much kinder company_ , Judith thought as she silently pouted.

Judith slowed her step, wanting to put distance between herself and the fox and to also get a better look at the craziness of the festival around her, it was kind of contagious being surrounded by animals in such good spirits. She was smiling at a giraffe who had dyed his fur numerous colors, making him look like a walking rainbow, when Nicholas suddenly tugged on the rope, dragging her back to her side.

“You need to stay close to me,” he ordered.

“I already am,” she returned his scowl, waving the wrist where the rope hung.

“No, you need to stay _right_ next to me,” he growled.

“What on earth for? I’m not getting underfoot.”

The fox sighed then suddenly reached out and grabbed her arm, pulling her far closer than she cared for but she knew it was unwise to resist.

“I’m here to hunt someone down,” he whispered to her so no bystanders would overhear. “I’ve been getting reports that a mad wolf has been lurking around this village and trying to attack animals. I need to find him before he hurts someone.”

Judith swallowed not liking the sound of that in the least, though she did recall Nicholas receiving a letter she hadn’t been able to sneak a peek at but he had looked troubled for the rest of the day.

“So you need to stay close in case he’s blending in with the crowd,” Nicholas released her arm and kept walking, this time Judith stayed by his side.

“Surely an animal whose mad wouldn’t be able to hide, even in a crowd this big,” she pointed out.

“Don’t think that because he’s crazy he isn’t smart,” the fox retorted. “I’ve read many history books that told of psychopaths who were intelligent enough to do serious damage.”

The three kept walking in silence but now Judith’s fur was bristling with fear and paranoia. “Shouldn’t you have kept at least one guard at your side?”

“I can take care of myself,” he replied. Then he showed off his fangs in what looked like a teasing grin, “Of course I could always just throw you at him that should be a good distraction.”

She frowned up at him, “You’re still tied to me. If the wolf got me you wouldn’t be able to escape.”

“I have a dagger,” he pointed out. “Of course…if he ate you he’d probably get a stomach ache, and I’m not that cruel.”

Judith tried to think of a witty retort but before she could the two were standing near a type of stage, it was long and narrow, the base forming a square where a curtain hung, hiding the performers.

Judith glanced up at Nicholas, the fox’s green eyes going over the crowd; it didn’t look like he planned to continue onward for a moment. Judith took this time to return her attention to the stage where the cougar jester had suddenly appeared, introducing the upcoming dancer, a girl to enchant the entire crowd.

The cougar sang out: “Come dance, Gazella DANCE!”

And out from the curtains spun a beautiful gazelle, dressed in a flowing skirt of purples and blues, a matching top showing off her midriff. With a tambourine in hoof she danced across the stage, swishing her hips and tapping her feet to the chorus of the crowd’s cheers. Judith herself couldn’t help but smile, wishing she could move so gracefully, was bold enough to show off that much fur.

But as she watched Gazella claim the attention of the audience Judith tried to copy some of her some of her more simple moves. She swayed her hips, shuffled her feet, wished she could spin but that was impossible with the rope on her wrist.

She had mirrored Gazella’s dancing as well as she could for a few minutes before feeling eye son her. Nicholas was staring at her, the bunny’s ears flared red.

“What?” she demanded, having to shout above the cheering crowd as the gazelle finished her routine. “I can dance.”

The fox let out a bark of laughter, shaking his head, “Trust me, Carrots, you can’t.”

“I know you,” a feminine voice spoke up.

The two looked to see the gazelle gracefully jumping off the stage, the cougar introducing the next act, a rhino juggling lit torches. Gazelle had spoken to Nicholas, she smiled at him, “You’re the new king of Foxhollow.”

“I am,” Nicholas replied, his brows rose, waiting for her to continue.

Gazelle giggled at his expression before giving a small curtsy, “It’s an honor to perform before royalty, Your Majesty.”

Her eyes turned to Judith who stood straighter, “Hello.”

“H-Hello,” the bunny stammered then couldn’t help adding, “You dance beautifully.”

“Thank you very much,” Gazella said with sincerity. “What’s your name?”

“Judith Hopps,” she answered and curtsied.

“We need to get going,” Nicholas suddenly spoke up. Judith wanted to argue, she wanted to talk to Gazella more. But she noticed how the fox looked on edge, his eyes following a random group of predators the tallest one wearing a cloak that obscured his features, and she remembered that they were there to find a dangerous wolf.

“That’s a shame,” Gazelle looked disappointed, “Perhaps we can talk another time, it’s not everyday I run into royalty and his rabbit.”

Nicholas narrowed his eyes slightly at her before heading off, “Good day.” Judith waved goodbye to the gazelle as she was dragged away into the crowd.

“I understand we need to find this wolf as soon as possible,” she spoke to the fox as they walked. “But surely you didn’t have to be so nasty towards her.”

“I’ll be as nasty as I like,” the fox growled, flashing his sharp teeth. “I have no interest in showing courtesy to wanderers.”

Judith’s brow furrowed, forming wrinkles above her eyes, “Why the sudden malice?”

“It’s none of your business,” he snapped, making Judith cringe. But a second later he mumbled, “They always run away.”

That left Judith with more questions than answers but knew better than to ask for anymore.

.

When night fell Nicholas decided to call off the hunt until morning, not overly pleased at the thought of hunting down a crazy predator in the dark with a rabbit tied to his arm. Judith had to bite her lip to keep from pointing out he could always untie her. They returned to the carriage where Nicholas pulled out a blanket he had brought with him and made a pallet on the ground next to one of the wheels, deciding the carriage was too small for either of them to get a good night’s sleep.

Judith didn’t believe sleeping on the ground with a wolf on the loose was a better idea. “Why can’t we stay at an inn?”

“The wanderers are overcrowding all the inns in this town,” Nicholas said, just barely holding back his snarl.

 _What did they do to you_ , Judith wondered as the fox made himself comfortable on the makeshift pallet.

“Get some sleep,” he ordered, “We’re getting up at dawn.”

Judith curled onto the blanket, putting as much space between them as possible without lying on the dirt. It was only a few minutes before Nicholas’ breathing slowed, indicating he was asleep. But Judith couldn’t shut her eyes, she felt so exposed on this barren street, the fox’s guards sent all to stand sentry at certain parts of the town.

Judith’s ears twitched before sitting up and looking around, grateful for the street lamps and full moon that allowed her to see. She saw a flash of purple across the street and realized it was Gazella, the gazelle looked terrified and she was running…running toward the dark woods at the edge of town.

Judith’s heart pattered with fear but the gazelle was already disappearing into the trees before the bunny could call out.

Gazella didn’t know about the wolf, and she was all alone, with nothing to protect herself. Judith turned toward Nicholas moving to wake the fox up so they could go and save her but she was reminded of his dislike toward wanderers and her paws stilled. He wouldn’t bother to help her. Judith would have to go on her own…but how?

Her violet eyes trailed to his belt were she could just see the glint of his dagger hidden under his cloak. Her eyes narrowed and Judith reached her paw out, slowly, steadily, grabbing the hilt and slowly slipping it off his belt, all the while keeping her eyes on the fox’s sleeping face. She supposed if he woke up she could always quickly grab his thigh and pretend she had tried to seduce him, it would be mortifying but it was better than telling him her actual plan.

She grinned triumphantly as she successfully pulled the dagger off his belt and got to slicing the rope off her wrist, as soon as she was free she leapt up and dashed toward the forest, dagger still in paw just in case.

Judith knew Nicholas would be furious when he woke up and saw her gone, but she wasn’t the kind of bunny to turn her back on an animal who needed her help.


	7. Savagery

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As Nicholas continued to grumble to himself as he walked through the woods he came to a realization that was more terrifying than stumbling across some crazy wolf or having his territory stolen by Queen Shenzi.   
> He was worried for the stupid girl.

The full moon dappled the leaf-strewn forest, the trees appearing black in the night. Judith stayed in the middle of the path she had discovered, arms wrapped around herself, dagger in the sash around her waist, and ears erect to catch even the slightest sound of a noise that could be Gazella or the wolf.

But luckily the bunny didn’t have to wander for long, catching sight of a familiar, then figure ahead she rushed toward it, crying out: “Gazella!”

The gazelle started when her name was called, whirling around, a lit lantern in hoof, and relaxed when she saw it was Judith running toward her. “You’re that bunny from earlier,” she stated.

Judith nodded, “I am. What on earth are you doing out here at night?”

Gazella looked around, worry creasing her brow, “My friend, she can’t find her son. All of the wanderers are looking for him but with no luck. Then I recalled he had shown interest in coming into this forest.”

Judith sucked in a terrified break that had Gazella turning back to look at her, “What’s wrong?”

“Gazella…the reason King Nicholas is here…there’s a mad wolf around these parts.”

The gazelle’s eyes widened in fear and she whirled around to rush deeper into the forest, “I have to find him!”

“I’ll help you!” Judith called, racing after the gazelle, “Two pairs of eyes are better than one.” _And a dagger certainly wouldn’t be a hindrance_.

.

“Hey, fox!”

Nicholas’ eyes blinked open, his vision blurry for a moment as he rubbed the sleep out of his eyes. His back ached from sleeping on the ground, and to his annoyance it was still dark out, the moon was barely in the middle of the sky.

He looked up to see that cougar wanderer from earlier and instant dislike had Nicholas baring his fangs, “ _What_?”

The cougar didn’t look bothered by his sharp teeth, “Have you seen a colt?”

Nicholas’s eyes narrowed, not bothering to sit up, “I was asleep how could I have seen one?”

The cougar sighed, thought it sounded more like a growl, and left without further ado. Nicholas was glad he had sent his guards away, otherwise he might have been tempted to arrest the wanderer for disturbing a king’s sleep.

It was then he realized Judith was not at his side. 

“No,” his voice came out as a pathetic whimper as he lifted up the obviously cut rope.

“No.” He felt for his dagger and was not surprised to see it was gone. “No, no, no, no.”

He pulled the rope off his wrist and glared up at the sky, “What did I do to deserve this? Did I set an orphanage on fire in a past life?”

Nicholas glared down at the pallet, wondering if he should just curl up and go back to sleep.

He opened his mouth and imitated his mother, “She’s your responsibility, Nicholas.”

He spoke in his normal voice: “Neither of us are happy about that, Mother.”

“I know you can catch her scent, you know she ran off into the woods.”

“Well we already established she’s a dumb bunny,” Nicholas replied to himself as he sat up and stretched, working out the kinks of his back and shoulders.

“She could die out there!”

“I could live with that.” He folded up the pallet and placed it in the carriage.

“Hush up, you know you’d feel guilty for the rest of your life if you left her there with a dangerous predator on the prowl.”

“I would not,” Nicholas stated simply as he fetched his sword from the carriage and placed it on his belt. His nose twitched, catching the rabbit’s scent as he headed for the woods, “But I guess I could catch her, just in case I ever get the hankering for rabbit stew…”

.

Judith felt her heart pounded against her ribcage, threatening to break the bones. While Gazella had no qualms with yelling out into the woods, trying to grab the child’s attention wherever he might be, all Judith could think about was a wolf charging from the bushes and devouring them both.

 _Stop it_ , she scolded herself, _he’s crazy not savage_. But then her ear twitched as she heard a footstep behind them, a footstep too large to be a colt’s.

“Gazella,” Judith breathed, reaching the gazelle’s side and taking her hoof. “We need to run.”

“What?” the wanderer began but stopped when she heard the sound of a twig snapping and another heavy footstep. Gazella wrapped her fingers around Judith’s paw and the two darted ahead, trying to avoid bushes and logs and keeping their ears open to try and hear if the footsteps gave chase.

They hadn’t gotten far when Judith stepped on something that wasn’t leaf or grass or dirt, it felt like rope.

She and Gazella let out shrieks as they suddenly shot into the air, trapped in net. The two dangled from a thick tree branch, the gazelle practically on top of Judith who was looking around at the forest floor below. Who had set a trap?

“Well, I hope you’re both happy,” an unfamiliar and raspy voice spoke up. Out from the trees came a hooded figure that Judith thought was slightly familiar. She realized she had seen him in town, watching Gazella’s dance.

“Do you know how long it took to set that trap?” he asked, the hood hiding his features from them. Judith couldn’t even tell what kind of animal it was.

“It’s not like we did this on purpose,” Gazella pointed out. “Who on earth are you?”

The stranger snorted and threw off his hood, Judith let out a frightened cry.

It was a wolf, with fur darker than pitch and green eyes that practically glowed in the night; she noticed a few scars marring his muzzle. When the bunny had let out the terrified noise the wolf jolted, looking affronted, “What’s wrong with her?”

“Stay back,” Judith warned, “I have a dagger!” She would’ve taken it out as proof but feared she might actually wound herself or Gazella.

The wolf’s brow furrowed and Judith went on: “King Nicholas is out looking for you! And he’ll be very upset if he finds out you harmed his ward!”

A lie but the wolf didn’t have to know that.

There was a moment of silence before comprehension dawned on the predators’ snout, “You think I’m that crazy wolf that’s been lurking around.”

His words made Gazella cock her head to the side, “Aren’t you?”

“No,” he stated flatly. “I’ve actually been looking for him. That’s why I’ve been setting up traps, like the one you just ran into and wasted.”

The wolf then pulled out a dagger and Judith’s heart beat painfully, but he only walked over and used the blade to cut them down. “Thank you,” Gazella said after he gently lowered them to the ground and they climbed out of the net. The gazelle walked over to him and offered her hoof, “I’m Gazella.”

“Hmm,” he replied, not taking the offered hoof. “You and your rabbit friend need to leave. It’s not safe out here.”

“We can’t,” Judith insisted as she hurried over. “We’re looking for a missing colt.”

“Have you seen him?” Gazella asked.

The wolf narrowed his eyes, “I wouldn’t have left him alone if I have. But I’ll keep an eye out for him.” He turned to leave.

Gazella walked after him and Judith had no choice but to follow, she did not like being in the presence of such an intimidating predator even if he wasn’t mad. The wolf didn’t looked pleased to see the two females following him.

“Can’t we search for him with you?” Gazella asked. “With your hearing and sense of smell it would be much easier.” When he just glared she added a soft, “Please, he’s just a child.”

The stranger let out a suffering sigh but nodded, “Just don’t get underfoot.”

.

As Nicholas continued to grumble to himself as he walked through the woods he came to a realization that was more terrifying than stumbling across some crazy wolf or having his territory stolen by Queen Shenzi.

He was _worried_ for the stupid girl.

His fur was bristling as he kept waiting to see her ravaged body on the leaf-strewn ground. And it was horrid because she was just a liability and he should be glad to be rid of her.

But he wasn’t and it made no sense.

Nicholas nearly jolted out of his fur when the sound of sobs reached his ears. Spotting a hollowed out tree Nicholas walked over, bracing himself to see a bleeding bunny. But when he knelt down and peered inside he instead saw a young colt.

The tan-furred child was huddled far into the hollow, rubbing at his streaming eyes, he wore the dirt-stained clothes of a wanderer.

“What are you doing here?” he asked and the colt let out a frightened whiny when he looked up and saw the leering fox.

Nicholas’ eyes narrowed. I _f you thought we would ever trust a fox then you’re dumber than you look._

“What are you doing here?” he repeated, not softening his tone.

“I-I got lost,” the colt sobbed, “I don’t know how to get back.”

Nicholas sighed angrily before reaching his paws out and grabbing the colt, “I’ll take you back.”

“R-Really?” the child was surprised.

“As soon as I find _my_ child,” Nicholas grumbled, holding the colt to his chest and wrapping his cape around the wanderer to keep him warm.

“You have a k-kit?” the child sniffled the question.

“I have a rabbit,” Nicholas answered, sniffing the air to pinpoint Judith’s scent.

“Oh,” the colt mumbled then buried his face into the fox’s chest. Nicholas frowned as he continued his search.

.

“Stop staring at me!”

Judith jumped when Wolf (he had refused to give his real name) whirled on Gazella with bared fangs.

The gazelle blinked, not frightened of his outburst, “Oh. I’m sorry. I hadn’t realized, it’s just…”

“Just what?”

“I can’t get over how beautiful your eyes are.”

Wolf bristled, looking offended before he turned on his heel and kept walking. Judith stared at Gazella, that wasn’t the first compliment she had thrown at the disgruntle canine. And by the way Gazella followed after him with a tender smile Judith had a mind to believe she had somehow become smitten with the predator.

But how, Judith wondered, yes Gazella as a wanderer was more comfortable around predators but what made her like Wolf? So what if he had pretty eyes and fur? So did Nicholas and that fox was wicked.

Her thoughts reminded her that she had stolen his dagger and ran off. She wondered if he had woken up and found her gone. Judith wondered if she should decide to spend the rest of her life in this forest.

While Wolf was busy trying to sniff out the missing child’s scent Judith hurried over to Gazella’s side to whisper, “Why do you antagonize him?”

The gazelle looked mildly surprised, “Antagonize him?”

“He doesn’t like you saying those things,” Judith pointed out the obvious.

“That’s because no one’s ever took the time to say nice things to him,” Gazella replied, turning her eyes back to the wolf who couldn’t hear their conversation. “I’ve seen animals like him, beaten down by life and having never received a kind smile, yet hiding a kind heart. I’m good at seeing such things; my grandmother told me it was a gift.”

Gazella smiled teasingly down at Judith, “I saw the same kind heart in your fox as well.” Judith couldn’t help a scoff, “He’s not my fox. And you don’t know him like I do, he despises me.”

“Hmm,” Gazella replied but didn’t look convinced.

Judith opened her mouth to try and explain how awful the Foxhollow king was when her ears twitched, catching the sound of footsteps though the three hadn’t moved. Her nose twitched…what was-

“Hide.” Wolf was suddenly by their side again and looking on edge, his fur bristling and his ears pulled flat against his skull. “You need to hide.”

“What’s wrong?” Gazella asked as he ushered them to a tree that he instructed to climb.

“He’s near,” Wolf’s head examined the forestry around him. “I need you two to hide and be quiet, I’m going to try and lead him toward one of my traps.”

“But what if he gets you?” Gazella asked from atop a branch, Judith’s ears twitching as she heard the footsteps approaching.

He smirked sardonically at them, “Don’t insult me. I’ll be back for you two as soon as I have him in a net.” And then Wolf ran off into the trees and vanished.

He hadn’t been gone for ten seconds before a new animal stumbled into view, stopping just below their tree.

It was a wolf with a snow white pelt, but what was strange was that he was walking on all fours, nose to the ground as he sniffed. He then lifted his head and growled, Judith saw that his eyes were yellow and feral looking. This wolf was a level of insanity Judith had not prepared for, Nicholas probably hadn’t either.

 _I don’t think this is even insanity_ , Judith thought to herself, hoping her fear scent wouldn’t bring the wolf’s eyes upward. _This is savagery_.

Suddenly a low mournful howl filled the air; Wolf was trying to get the savage predator’s attention away from them. The wolf’s head shot up and it raced toward the noise, Judith was surprised by the intense gratitude she felt for the grumpy canine.

When the wolf had vanished Gazella started to climb down from the tree. “We need to help him,” she pointed out before Judith could even say anything. “He can’t do this alone.”

Judith was surprised even further when she climbed down from the tree and followed the gazelle toward the rabid predator.

.

Nicholas’ ears pricked when a howl painted the air, it made his tail bristle and his ears pull back. Was it the wolf? He had no idea what else it could be. He waited to hear Judith’s screams, hating how his heart pounded with panic.

“Was-was that a wolf?” the colt in his arms asked with fright.

“You need to be quiet now,” Nicholas whispered, using his cape to completely cover the child. He didn’t want to risk the colt seeing the crazy wolf and screaming.

 _Carrots, where are you_? Nicholas thought furiously, letting one paw rest on the hilt of his sword, though he had no idea if he could sword fight while holding a child. He should’ve known something like this would’ve happened. His luck ran out the day he accepted that dumb bunny as a gift.

There was suddenly the rustling of bushes, the sound of snarls and Nicholas stepped closer toward a large tree, feeling the colt shaking from the noises but obediently staying quiet.

Without warning a white wolf leapt out of a thicket, snarling to himself and yellow eyes darting around, before it could look toward Nicholas the fox had already hidden behind the tree, keeping his breath low and wishing foxes didn’t naturally have such a strong scent.

 _What the hell is that_? That wasn’t some lunatic that escaped the asylum that was a _wild animal_ something that came from thousands of years ago when foxes ate rabbits and wolves hunted in packs.

He licked his parched lips as he heard the wolf stalk closer, no doubt having smelled him. Nicholas’ paw wrapped around the hilt of his sword, if he could just aim right maybe the fight would be over before it even started. The colt shivered against him.

Then he caught a familiar scent.

Nicholas looked toward his right to see Judith and that wanderer dancer Gazella, hiding behind a thinner patch of trees, looking toward him with wide frightened eyes.

Nicholas frantically shook his head as the wolf got closer, hoping they could see through his eyes that they needed to be quiet.

Judith stared at him and the colt for a moment before something unrecognizable flashed in her violet eyes and she vanished, Gazella watched her go but didn’t move after her. A few seconds later Judith let out a howl.

Nicholas’ jaw dropped. She didn’t…SHE DIDN’T!

With a furious snarl the wolf raced after the noise, meanwhile Nicholas quickly placed the colt in Gazella’s arms (“Hold this.”) and gave chase as well. He couldn’t believe Carrots just did that!

.

Judith raced through the forest, feet barely touching the ground as she held her skirt up as high as possible and ran for her life. The savage wolf, having spotted her, eagerly gave chase, he was actually _drooling_ and Judith knew what he planned to do when he caught her.

 _If_ he caught her, she tried to pick up her pace.

She and Gazella had been carefully following the path of Wolf and the savage when said savage suddenly turned, the two tried to decide if to follow after it or go after Wolf. Then Judith caught the scent of a familiar musk and she found herself going after the wild predator, Gazella following after.

Judith had no idea why she wanted to go and warn Nicholas who was obviously there to make her pay for stealing from him and running away, but she did. And when she saw him and that poor missing colt about to be found by the savage-she had to do something. That something was howl, grab his attention and running for her life. She wondered if anyone beside her family would grief over her death. She wondered if Nicholas would bother burying what ever was left of her body. She wondered why this wolf was savage in the first place, true she had her fear of predators but even she could admit they didn’t just randomly go feral. There was something tickling the back of her brain, a memory, a fact, but she couldn’t dig it out enough to figure out what it was.

Spotting a fallen log ahead of her path Judith braced herself to jump, hoping the ground beyond the log wasn’t slick and wouldn’t make her trip. Her worry was irrelevant for as soon as she was over the log she was tackling into before her feet could touch the ground. She knew it wasn’t the wolf for whatever had tackled her had appeared from her side and wasn’t going for her neck as soon as they landed on the ground.

Judith opened her eyes and was shocked to see Nicholas above her, but before she could decide if she had anything to say besides ‘Please don’t hang me for stealing your dagger’ the wolf jumped over the log, leaping over their heads to land a few feet away.

But he didn’t keep running, instead he turned around and flashed his fangs at the two, releasing a frightful growl.

But Nicholas retorted by furiously hissing at the wolf, not scared to show his own teeth and Judith couldn’t help staring at him in open surprise, seeing how he was still crouched over her in a protective stance- _Nicholas Wilde was protecting her_.

But her awe was short-lived as the wolf took a step forward, despite how intimidating Nicholas looked at the moment she doubted he’d be able to stand up to such a crazy animal, even with his sword.

But then a rock flew through the air and smacked the savage predator upside the head. All three pairs of eyes turned to see Wolf sauntering out of the trees, causally tossing a rock in his paw.

“Oops,” he smirked at the savage wolf, “That looks like it hurts. Are you mad?”

The savage snarled loudly.

Wolf bared his own teeth but didn’t look the least bit frightened, “Come make me pay for it.”

The savage lunged and once again Wolf was running off, the two disappearing into the woods. Judith found herself slipping out from under Nicholas and following after.

“Carrots,” Nicholas called as she started to jog off, “Carrots!” With an angry growl he got up and followed after her.

The two sprinted through the trees, following the taunts and snarls of the wolves ahead and stumbled into a clearing just in time to see what happened next.

Wolf was jogging, being sure not to go too fast to outrun the other wolf, but then suddenly leaped over a large pile of leaves, but the wolf was able to scrape his fangs across his leg before Wolf landed painfully on his shoulder on the other side of the pile of leaves. With blood dripping from his fangs the savage ran across the leaves, just before he reached Wolf he was swung into the air, trapped in a net where he immediately tried to struggle against the thick rope but to no avail.

Realizing it was over Judith’s legs almost gave out but she kept it together as she followed Nicholas to Wolf’s side.

“Are you alright?!”

Judith and Nicholas jumped as Gazella appeared out of no where (Judith realized a lot of animals were doing that tonight) and knelt by Wolf’s side, the missing colt hanging from her back with his arms wrapping around her neck.

“I’m fine,” he grumbled, already tearing off strips of his cloak to bandage his bleeding bite wounds.

Gazella looked toward Judith and released a relieved sigh, “You look well. You nearly scared me to death when you made the wolf chase you like that.”

“That reminds me,” Nicholas spoke up for the first time and whirled on Judith. “WHAT WERE YOU THINKING!?”

Judith’s ears fell, so much for the fox being protective of her. She must have imagined that.

“I TOLD YOU THERE WAS A CRAZY WOLF RUNNING AROUND!” he blew up on her, tail bristling and teeth bared. “BUT YOU RUN OFF ANYWAY AND _WITH_ MY DAGGER!” Judith pulled it off her sash and lamely offered it to him, he snatched it away before continuing, “AND THEN YOU GO AND TRY TO PLAY HERO AND DISTRACT SAID CRAZY WOLF AND NEARLY GET YOURSELF KILLED-”

“Wait, wait,” Gazella stood up and rushed to the rabbit’s aid. “The only reason she came here was because she saw me walking into the woods and wanted to warn me, but when she heard I was looking for Prancer she couldn’t _not_ help.” Then she added, “And if I may be so bold, Your Highness, that act of playing hero saved your life.”

Nicholas narrowed his eyes and then spoke, “The colt is yours then?”

“He’s the son of one of my friends,” Gazella answered, looking at the colt whose wide eyes were on the trapped wolf. “Thank you for finding him and bringing him to me.”

“If I may cut in,” Wolf spoke up, still sitting on the ground but his leg was now bandaged. He pointed up at the struggling predator, “I’ve meant plenty of crazy animals in my life, that’s not crazy.”

“Agreed,” the anger left Nicholas as he studied the snarling wolf. “That’s…something else.”

“What-what are we going to do with him?” Judith was almost too scared to ask, her ears still ringing from Nicholas’ shouts.

“He’s coming back to the castle with us,” the fox answered, “Come along, Carrots. We need to find my guards, we’ll sedate him and carry him back to town with us. We can keep him in a cell until we figure out what’s wrong with him.”

Nicholas looked to Wolf, “I’ll pay you if you keep an eye on him until I get back.”

“I have no other plans,” the black wolf agreed.

“But as soon as that’s all settled you’re coming back to town with me,” Gazella told Wolf firmly. “I have a friend who’s a doctor and I want him to look at your wounds.” She smiled at him, “And I’d like to buy you a drink as a thank you, you are quiet the hero.” Wolf ducked his head and through the dim moon light Judith could’ve sworn his ears blushed red.

Nicholas scoffed and grabbed Judith’s arm, leading her out of the woods with Gazella and Prancer behind them. When they reached the town the two wanderers parted ways with them, Prancer shyly thanking Nicholas for rescuing him, the fox just nodded.

The sun was just coming up, painting sky orange as he and Judith stood at the edge of the tree line, the fox not moving toward the town. Judith looked up at him, his expression told me was far away from her.

Then he spoke: “Don’t let this get to your head but…”

“What?”

He met her eyes, “What you did, all of it…that was very big of you.”

Her ears shot up and she was sure she had just gone into shock. She had just been complimented by Nicholas Wilde; this was officially the strangest day of the rabbit’s life.

His eyes suddenly narrowed at her, “What are you smirking at?”

Realizing that her lips had indeed turned up Judith tried to stifle the grin, “Nothing it’s just, I get the feeling you might like me a little better now.”

His ears pressed against his skull, “And there you go letting it go to your head. Don’t flatter yourself Carrots; you’re still a dumb bunny.”

But those words no longer carried the usual sting; she chuckled as she followed him into town, bravely adding, “I’ll remember that next time I try to save you.”

“That reminds me,” he glanced back at her, not looking overly pleased, “You did technically save a king’s life back there.”

“Technically,” she agreed.

“And I believe in repaying life debts so…you will no longer be tethered to me.”

Judith had to bite her lip to keep from smiling again! That was worth being chased by a savage predator.

“ _But_ ,” Nicholas continued, “That doesn’t mean I don’t expect you to stay in my shadow at all times, this isn’t permission to run away or ruin my reputation with other Regions further. Understand?”

“Understand,” Judith replied, realizing it didn’t bother her as much as it should. What else would she do in the Foxhollow castle besides follow Nicholas around? She wondered if that made her look pathetic.

Nicholas was still not done, “But…you do have permission to see the lack of rope as me saying thank you.”


	8. Nailed Curtains and Hidden Journals

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> She looked up at the fox, his expression unreadable as she breathed in his scent. “Th-Thank you,” she mumbled, wondering why she felt so bashful and her skin felt so warm where his paws held her.

“Perhaps it’s a sickness.”

Judith stood in a random corner of Manchas’ study, examining the herbs and potions he had laid out haphazardly on a table.

The jaguar sat at his desk, flying through a thick book with yellowed pages, Nicholas standing by his side emerald eyes narrowed at the script.

“Maybe…” the fox replied but his tone carried doubt. “But does that mean there could be an antidote?”

Manchas let out a heavy sigh, running a paw over his scarred eye, “I am not sure.”

“Take a break,” Nicholas ordered, stepping away from the desk. “Eat, rest, that wolf is in one of our strongest cells and is guarded, he won’t be going anywhere.”

Manchas nodded and Nicholas indicated for Judith to follow him out of the room.

“Still no ideas?” she asked as they descended the stairs, even though she had been listening to their conversation closely.

Nicholas shook his head, his eyes showing a worry he refused to voice. It had been three days since they had brought the savage wolf here and no one had any inkling to what was wrong with him. Though over and over Judith felt something rolling in her mind that was related to this problem, but it never stopped long enough for her to examine it.

“We’re going to the library,” Nicholas spoke up when they reached the bottom of the stairs. “I trust you can entertain yourself while we’re there?”

There was something satisfying about keeping her ability to read a secret, but Judith only nodded and dutifully followed him to the castle’s grand library, being sure not to give him any reason to use the rope again.

Walking into the mostly empty room Judith was surprised to see Bellwether there, standing next to a ladder and a large window that was covered by thick jade curtains. Having not spoken to the ewe in days Judith walked over to her, Nicholas following out of curiosity.

“Good afternoon, Bellwether,” Judith politely greeted. When the sheep looked toward them she offered a distracted curtsy, “Good afternoon.”

“What’s wrong?” Nicholas asked, having noticed the sheep’s nervous expression as well.

“W-well Your Highness,” she began meekly, “I was supposed to air out the library but I need to open the curtains and…” Bellwether glanced at the old ladder in disgust. “Surely we have newer ladders?”

But Nicholas saw past the excuse, “You’re afraid of heights.”

Bellwether almost glared at him before remembering he was a king and lowered her head.

Full of pity Judith walked over, “I can do this for you.”

“You will?” Bellwether looked relieved.

“Of course,” the bunny glanced at Nicholas. “I needed to find a way to entertain myself anyway.”

The fox and sheep watched in silence as Judith climbed the rickety ladder, reaching the top. She grabbed the curtain and gave a hearty pull-it didn’t budge.

Confused, Judith pulled harder, nothing.

“Something wrong?” Nicholas called up.

“Is…are…are these curtains _nailed_ to the wall?”

She looked down to Nicholas who had raised his eyebrows but didn’t look all that surprised, “I’ll be.”

“Um…can you explain?” she asked.

“My great, great grandfather hated sunlight so during his reign he had all the curtains to every window nailed closed,” Nicholas said. “I thought they had removed all the nails but apparently they missed one.” His eyes turned to Bellwether, “Go find a hefty animal to help pull these curtains down.”

“No, no!” Judith grabbed the curtain with both paws. “I can still do this; I just have to put more force into it!”

“Carrots…” the fox’s voice was doubtful. “Don’t kill yourself over a curtain, that’s just embarrassing. And pathetic.”

“Trust me,” she said through gritted teeth as she pulled at the curtains with all her might, “This…is about…to drop…like a…” with a loud ripping noise the curtain fell away and Judith went with it. She barely had a chance to scream as she fell through the air before she was caught.

Judith blinked, her chest rising up and down as she tried to calm her racing heart. And then realized Nicholas had caught her.

She looked up at the fox, his expression unreadable as she breathed in his scent. “Th-Thank you,” she mumbled, wondering why she felt so bashful and her skin felt so warm where his paws held her.

Nicholas looked away, looking disgruntle before placing her on her feet, “I told you not to get yourself killed over a curtain.”

“Sorry,” her voice was quiet and Bellwether was staring at them with wide eyes. There was an awkward moment of silence before Nicholas abruptly turned on his heel, “I have some research to do, stay away from ladders.” He quickly disappeared into the large maze-like book shelves of the library.

“What was that?” Bellwether asked incredulously.

Judith looked at her, her brow furrowed in confusion, “What was what?”

The sheep narrowed her eyes at the rabbit, “It looked like you were getting too comfortable with the enemy.”

Judith almost said that Nicholas wasn’t the enemy but held herself back. He wasn’t an enemy but he was hardly a friend either. “Just because he caught me doesn’t mean we’re comfortable with each other, he still finds me incredibly annoying and the feeling is mutual.”

Bellwether didn’t look convinced, and Judith couldn’t help but wonder if she was remembering the suggestive fact that the bunny and Nicholas shared a bed.

“Just be careful,” Bellwether finally spoke, picking up the jade curtain, “I have had my experiences with predators before Judith, you can’t trust them. No matter what.”

Then without so much as a goodbye the sheep left, dragging the curtain behind her. Now desperate for a distraction Judith walked farther into the library, planning to find a book she could read while also hiding from Nicholas.

She found a shelf full of fairytales, all with different characters and lessons; Judith was surprised to see fairytales that had foxes as the villains. Why on earth would the Wilde family have books like that?

 _Maybe to remind themselves what the world thinks of foxes_ , the thought made Judith feel guilty.

Finally Judith decided on the story of the snow white rabbit who lived in a cottage in the forest with a group of mice. But as opened up the volume something fell out between its pages: a journal.

Curiosity burning through her veins Judith crouched on the floor, placing the fairy tale down to pick up said journal. Its case was brown, cracked leather, the pages dusty and yellow with age.

She flipped it open to the first page and her mouth dropped at what she saw. Written in cursive yet scratchy scrawl were the words: Property of Prince Richard Lazarus Wilde.

Judith nearly dropped the book. Who was Prince Richard? Did Nicholas have a sibling?

 _Calm down, calm down_ , Judith ordered herself. This is probably a journal from one of his ancestors…an ancestor who wouldn’t mind if she snuck a peek.

She turned to the next page where at the top ‘Entry One’ was written in large letters, she started to read:

_Hello Journal, congratulations are in order! You are one of my birthday presents! Mother wants me to write in you to express my feelings and not bottle them up inside. Which is silly, I am sick, Journal. Not temperamental._

_But I promised to write in you everyday, tell you what is happening in my life. In a way, Journal you’ll be my only friend._

_Besides my little brother of course, you’d like Nicholas, even though he treats me like I’m the baby, but he’s fun too._

That was all Prince Richard had to say for Entry One but that was far more than Judith had expected. This fox wasn’t some long dead ancestor; it was Nicholas’ brother, his older brother, the one who should be king of Foxhollow. What had happened?

 _I am sick, Journal_.

Suddenly Nicholas’ voice rang through the library, calling for her. Judith quickly put the journal back between the pages of the fairy tale before putting it back on the shelf. She jumped up and scurried toward the fox’s voice, all the while she had every intention of returning to this library and learning more about Prince Richard Lazarus Wilde.


	9. Royal Lines

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “I’m a delight,” Nicholas replied, shutting the door behind them.   
> He looked to his wardrobe and Judith’s panic sent her mouth moving: “Please don’t undress in front of me!”

_This morning I woke up and went to look for Nick…he was with our tutor. I know that doesn’t sound bad, Journal but Nicholas and I were always taught together yet this is the third time I’ve come across my brother leaning about Foxhollow without me. And I think it’s because Mother and Father don’t want me to be king. They probably don’t believe I’ll survive long enough._

_I’m so weak, Journal…I’m always coughing…even writing is tiring…_

_But maybe I’m just paranoid, maybe Nicholas is secretly learning to be an ambassador or something similar._

_Maybe I’ll get better and become a great king._

Judith closed the journal and returned it to its hiding place. She couldn’t tell if Prince Richard’s last sentence was sincere or a cover up. A lot of his journal entries were of a similar nature, starting off depressing before abruptly ending on a hopeful note.

It was quite clear Richard hadn’t gotten better, though the bunny had never asked anyone about the late prince in fear it would reach Nicholas’ ears.

But as Judith slipped out of the library, midday sunlight streaming through the windows and warming the stone floor, she wondered if Prince Richard would’ve been a good king. From his journal he sounded more passive and good-natured than his younger brother. Though more than once Richard expressed his love for Nicholas, talking of how the young kit would go out of his way to cheer up his sickly brother. He snuck in snacks and toys, made drawings and even things like bracelets, singing and making ridiculous jokes.

 _Basically_ , Judith decided with her eyes on the floor, _he’s far different from how he is now_.

True the fox didn’t snap at her like he had when they first met, but he was hardly ‘good-natured.’

As if the thought summoned him Judith’s ears flicked as she caught the sound of Nicholas’ voice. But it sounded different…

Her fur stood on end when suddenly from across the hall, Nicholas appeared at a corner, falling onto his back.

For a moment Judith imagined that the savage wolf had escaped from his cage. But then she realized he was _laughing_.

Judith stared in a daze, watching Nicholas laugh and smile at something she didn’t see. And how could he look so different? How could his green eyes suddenly look so warm? Two brown balls of fur appeared, crawling on the fox’s chest, Judith realized they were two otters.

“Oh no!” Nicholas dramatically threw his arm over his face, “I have been bested by the princes of Riverway!” He dropped his head to the floor, his tongue lolling out of his mouth, “Their cuddles…were too deadly.”

The two otters giggled and Judith found a light chuckle escaping from her lips. The sound of her laughter had Nicholas snapping his head to her direction and she quickly bit her lip.

The fox actually looked flustered as he got to his feet, holding the two kits to his chest and loudly clearing his throat. “Carrots,” his voice was purposefully serious.

Judith made her way to the fox, forcing her lips not to pull up, “Yes, Your Majesty?”

“We have guests,” he explained, tone still somber but his ears appearing a light shade of red. “These are the princes of Riverway, Oscar and Elijah Otterton.”

“Your Majesties,” Judith smiled at them and curtsied.

Her formality had the two otters grinning ear to ear. “Hello,” the older one greeted, his sleek tail wagging.

“You’re pretty,” the younger, Elijah, gushed.

Both Nicholas and Judith blinked in surprise before the rabbit smiled at the kit, “Why thank you, you’re such a little gentlemammal.”

Nicholas grumbled something unintelligible under his breath before turning around with a swish of his tail.

“Carrots, you have an assignment today.”

Judith titled her head; Nicholas had not given her an “assignment” before. With the exception of randomly helping members of the staff Judith’s presence in the castle was mainly pointless.

“My mother is entertaining the queen of Riverway in her day room, go tend to them.”

“We’re going swimming!” Elijah called out excitedly while Nicholas walked away.

“Goodbye Carrots!” Oscar waved goodbye.

.

Judith had a theory that Amelia Wilde and Queen Otterton had married into royalty instead of being born into it. She simply couldn’t see royal borns inviting a rabbit peasant to their tea party.

But sure enough she had stepped into the day room and the vixen had quickly pulled Judith on the sofa next to her, introducing her to the otter, Octavia.

Judith had sat ram-rod still next to the royalty as Amelia told Octavia what a _hero_ the rabbit was back at the Fellowship Festival, even saving her son’s life.

Judith blinked, did Nicholas tell her that?

The rabbit didn’t even get a word in before they changed the topic to King Otterton.

“My husband was ecstatic to visit Manchas,” Octavia smiled. “He’s missed his old friend.”

“I hope Riverway can spare you for the day,” Amelia replied.

“Our advisor is very reliable,” Octavia assured, “And Emmitt needs to help figure out what’s wrong with that wolf, for everyone’s sake.”

Suddenly the two looked at Judith, “Why don’t you eat something, dear?” Amelia indicated to the plates of meals and it hadn’t gone unnoticed by Nicholas and his mother. But it only worried Amelia.

“I-I’m not hungry, Your Highness,” Judith tried to reject the offer.

Amelia’s eyes narrowed, “Is my son telling you not to eat?”

“Oh, no, no,” Judith shook her head.

“Then eat.”

Judith’s tongue stilled…that had been an order from a former queen. She couldn’t say no. Insides twisting Judith picked up a sugar coated strawberry and took a bite, she could’ve moaned when the taste touched her taste buds.

The plate was empty in a matter of seconds, leaving Judith licking sugar and strawberry juice off her fingers. The bunny blinked, realizing what she was doing, Amelia and Octavia broke into laughter when the rabbit’s expression morphed into mortification.

“I like her,” the otter smiled.

Still chuckling Amelia turned to look at he window of the day room, standing up without further ado she walked to the window and her expression grew fond.

“You can see our babies,” Octavia guessed, walking to stand next to the vixen, Judith followed.

She couldn’t keep her jaw from dropping as, below, she saw Nicholas in a small pond with the Otterton princes. The fox had stripped down to his breeches, wading through the crystal water with the two otters swimming around his legs. And he was still smiling and laughing and Judith still found it so odd.

“I’m so grateful that Nicholas took the time to play with the boys,” Octavia spoke. “They were so worried he wouldn’t be the same now that he’s a king.”

“My baby has never changed,” Amelia replied proudly. “He’s going to be a good king.”

As if Judith had said something Amelia looked at the rabbit, “Trust me.”

.

Amelia and Octavia kindly let Judith go, seeing the bunny simply couldn’t get used to their company.

“Could you tell the boys to come in and get ready for dinner?” Octavia asked.

“Tell the _king_?” Judith gaped when she stood at the doorway.

“Tell him his mother gave the order,” Amelia replied, “He’ll listen.”

So Judith did that, walking outside in time to see Prince Oscar knock Nicholas off his feet down into the water.

“Sneaky,” Nicholas spluttered as he sat up, the water lapping at his creamy chest. Oscar bared his teeth in a cheeky grin.

“Hi, Carrots!” Elijah called when he spotted the bunny.

Nicholas’ smile instantly dropped, it for some reason disappointed Judith. “I-uh, I came to tell you it’s time to go up to dinner.”

“What was that?” Nicholas asked with a bored tone. “I couldn’t hear you.”

She furrowed her brow, was he being sarcastic? She stepped to the edge of the pond, “I said-”

Nicholas suddenly shot forward and grabbed his arm and before Judith could even blink she was pulled into the pond. She spluttered to the surface, hearing the princes giggle while Nicholas smirked at her.

And then, surprising both herself and the fox, Judith splashed him, leaving them both wide-eyed and blinking.

“Water fight!” the two otters squealed and splashed the two older animals ecstatically. Judith couldn’t help laughing and splashing along, not noticing the look Nicholas was giving her until he loudly cleared his throat and stood up.

“It’s time for dinner, you said?”

Judith immediately jumped to her feet, her fur and dress soaked, “Yes, yes that’s right.”

“Come along, boys,” Nicholas grabbed the princes’ paws and led the pouting otters away. Judith followed after, her heat still fluttering and her lips tight from smiling.

.

They left the princes with their mother to get dried up and Nicholas led Judith to his bedchambers to do the same, leaving puddles in their wake.

“Those two kits really like you,” she noted as they stepped into his room.

“I’m a delight,” Nicholas replied, shutting the door behind them.

He looked to his wardrobe and Judith’s panic sent her mouth moving: “Please don’t undress in front of me!”

Nicholas jolted in place, turning his head to give her a weird look, “I wasn’t going to.”

He stepped away from her and walked to his bedroom, returning a few seconds later with a towel that he unceremoniously threw onto Judith’s head. Before she could react she felt Nicholas’ paws on top of her head as he began to vigorously dry her fur.

“I can do that myself,” Judith argued, her voice muffled by the cloth.

“Could you?” he asked in a disinterested voice, rubbing one of her ears dry. “I hope you didn’t give my mother anything to complain about.”

“Your mother is very nice,” Judith answered, “She let me sit with her.”

“Hmm,” Nicholas hummed, he examined her dress. “You need to get out of that, it’s leaving a lake in the middle of my floor.”

She took a step back and the fox let out an aggravated growl, “What do I need to do to show you I’m not interested?”

Judith didn’t reply as he fetched one of the few dresses she had in his wardrobe. What made her think he’d try to bed her? Even if he liked rabbits that way it wasn’t like she was all that pretty. Maybe if her sister Rose had come instead…Judith supposed there was another good reason she had come instead. But maybe it was the way he sometimes looked at her; there were moments such as when they had first caught the savage wolf, when he looked at her without his usual scorn and sarcasm. And it made him look so different, like when he laughed and smiled.

“I don’t know,” she replied quietly, accepting the dress he handed to her.

Nicholas smirked at her, but his green eyes were actually amused this time, “You’ll forgive my lack of surprise.”

Judith pouted and remembered Amelia’s words: _He’s going to be a great king. Trust me._

And despite herself Judith was curious to see if the vixen was right, and she also wondered if Prince Richard would truly have been better.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy holidays.


	10. The Gift

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Judith's fur bristled as suddenly a dark look came over the fox's expression.  
> "My mother said I should thank you," he said climbing onto the bed, "You did save my life."

Judith stood in a corner of the dinning room, trying to be invisible. Though her wanting to be one with the shadows was unnecessary, Nicholas always brought her to meals and the Otterton princes had basically invited her.

But Judith wasn't royalty or staff so she didn't belong here and the smell of food was still torturous to her. The sugared strawberries hadn't filled her belly, it felt like it had only made her hungrier. But the guilty twisting her insides was stronger. If her family couldn't eat sugared strawberries then neither should she.

Judith was unnoticed by the Wilde and Otterton family, the two princes gobbling down food while the adults talked of the savage wolf.

The bunny's ears were pricked to their chatter, so far it sounded like King Emmitt and Manchas were stumped but they weren't giving up yet. The only thing the otter was sure of was that this wasn't a mental illness.

Judith's brow furrowed and she turned her eyes to the floor, there it was again, that wiggling in the back of her brain. This whole situation was reminding her of _something_. But for the life of her she couldn't recall that memory.

When dessert came talk of the wolf had subsided to more casual conversations. Judith's mouth watered, seeing the sugary sweets, but the royalty were too busy with their meals and talks. At one point Nicholas pulled a covered bowl of silver to his side, his green eyes glowing in rare fondness. He uncovered the lid to reveal a large pile of blueberries, holding one of the blue orbs between his claws Nicholas raised the fruit to his lips.

And that's when Judith caught the scent.

Her stomach dropped as memories of a growling rabbit filled her head. Panic sent her sprinting across the floor and with a shrieking 'no' tumbled into Nicholas, sending them both to the floor. The blueberry harmlessly rolling away.

"ARE YOU INSANE!?" Nicholas snarled, glaring at the rabbit sprawled across him.

Judith met his furious expression head on, "That blueberry is poisoned!"

He blinked, that was not the answer he'd been expecting, if he had been expecting an answer at all.

The rest of the table had jumped to their feet when Judith had tackled Nicholas. King Emmitt picked up the abandoned blueberry and gave it a cautious sniff, his eyes widened. "Night Howler..."

"It smells like this flower my uncle once ate," Judith moved to her feet, "It made him go crazy!"

Judith made to say more but Emmitt suddenly pulled her into an unexpected hug.

"This is it!" he pulled back with an ecstatic grin, "I had forgotten all about Night Howlers, that must be what happened to the wolf!" He ran out proclaiming he must tell Manchas.

Nicholas had just stood up when his parents crowded him, asking if he was okay.

"I'm fine," he replied, looking more bothered by the attention than his close call.

Amelia suddenly whirled around to face Judith and a moment later she pulled Judith into a hug. "You really are a hero," the vixen whispered into her ear. For a moment Judith felt like she was being embraced by her own mother, and then Amelia pulled away to return to her son's side.

.

"You need to thank her." Nicholas turned his eyes to his mother.

The Wilde family, along with Queen Octavia, stood outside Manchas' room. Now that he and Emmitt knew Night Howlers were the cause they were quick in making the antidote.

"I'm more concerned in finding out who tried to poison me," Nicholas replied, knowing exactly who the 'her' was. The fox now knew there was someone in this castle who didn't wish him well. He also knew he could cross Clawhauser off his list, because besides the cheetah bursting into tears when he found out what happened, Nicholas knew him since he was a kit. Clawhauser had too good of a heart to poison even his worst enemy.

No, he had an enemy under his roof and he would find whoever it was.

.

Judith had returned to Nicholas' bedchamber after dinner, curling into the large bed to calm her racing heart. So the Night Howlers that had turned her uncle crazy did the same thing with that poor wolf.

She had been told there was an antidote and she wished her family had known that long ago. Judith had just been a child when her beloved uncle had tried to bite her and her siblings. Knowing it was the strange blue flower had caused it but having no idea how to fix it they tied him up to wait it out.

But the next morning he had vanished, leaving nothing but a chewed rope.

They never saw him again.

The door opening broke her from her thoughts. Nicholas had returned.

"How is..." she started but stopped when she noticed him relaxed expression. "We just gave him the antidote," the fox told her. "I think he's going to be okay."

Judith released a relieved sigh, "That's good. What are you going to do with him?"

"Ask him how he was poisoned then let him go," Nicholas answered bluntly. " _Then_ find out who tried to turn me savage."

"I'll help you." Judith's offer came out immediately.

Nicholas gave her a weird look, "Oh?"

"Night Howlers are awful things," Judith pointed out. "I don't want someone who would use them to hurt mammals roam free."

"Valiant," he replied, walking to the bed.

Judith's fur bristled as suddenly a dark look came over the fox's expression.

"My mother said I should thank you," he said, climbing onto the bed, "You _did_ save my life."

"It-it's fine," she stammered. "The only other option was to let you go savage and attack everyone."

"Still," Nicholas said, "I'm going to thank you."

Judith bit her lip to keep from screaming as Nicholas loomed over her, straddling her hips and pressing his paw firmly on her collarbone.

 _He's just teasing you_ , she reminded herself, _He wants you to react_.

But then from his pocket Nicholas pulled out a baby carrot and pressed it against her lips. "Eat."

Judith kept her lips locked and shook her head.

"You're _starving_ yourself," Nicholas pointed out, lifting the carrot-holding paw.

"So is my family," she snapped. "Why should I get to live in luxury when they can't?"

Nicholas' narrowed eyes glowed, "Because you're mine."

She blinked, "What?"

"You're _my_ ward, living in _my_ home. You save me more than once, I'm going to take care of you."

He pressed the carrot against her lips again, "I'll see what I can do for your family but you starving helps no one."

A few moments passed of Nicholas staring her down before she gave in and bit into the carrot. He released the vegetable so Judith could chew and swallow.

"Good girl," he stated, "And tomorrow you'll eat breakfast, yes?"

The bunny only nodded, staring up at the vulpine still on top of her.

As if reading her mind Nicholas moved, climbing off her and lying down on his side of the bed.

Savoring the taste of the carrot she had eaten Judith played the king's words over and over in her head.

 _Because you're mine_.

 _I'm going to take care of you_.

She didn't think anyone had ever said that to her.


	11. The Dancing Fox

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nicholas blinked, suddenly curious of something. "Do you have a buck?"  
> Judith's twirling came stop to a stop and she gave the fox a perplexed look, "Pardon?"

Nicholas had been standing with Finnick, watching the wolf leave the castle, when his friend invited him to the theater.

The antidote had successfully cured the wolf who admitted to be a traveling poet from Kingsland. When asked about the Night Howlers the wolf was ignorant of the dangerous plant. He recalled walking to Foxhollow for the Fellowship Festival when there was a pain in his side and he passed out and woke up in Nicholas' dungeon.

With nothing else to tell them he was released. And now Nicholas turned his head to look at the fennec next to him. "You are aware I was almost poisoned, yes?"

"Of course, and now you need a distraction. Let's go watch a play, they're performing the Dancing Fox tonight."

The king had to admit, that sounded inviting. Maybe a distraction would do him some good. "Let me fetch, Carrots," Nicholas turned to go and find the rabbit but Finnick's amused snort stopped him.

"What?" he growled over his shoulder.

The small fox smirked, "I wasn't aware you came with your ward."

Nicholas glared as his ears suddenly felt hot, "I'm just giving her a reward for discovering that Night Howler."

"Hmm," Finnick only hummed.

"Be quiet," Nicholas growled before turning on his heel.

.

The rabbit was roaming through the library when he found her. She did that far too often considering Nicholas had never seen her pick up a book.

When she spotted him at the doors she curtsied, "Your Majesty."

"Bellwether's old dresses aren't the most high class," Nicholas said in a way of greeting.

Judith blinked dumbly and looked down at the dark gray dress she wore. "Well, Sire. It _is_ a servant's outfit."

"Yes, I suppose no one at the theater would expect a servant to dress up," he mused.

The bunny's ears shot up at his words, "Theater?"

"Finnick is treating me to a play and you'll be accompanying us." Nicholas hoped his strict tone would dissuade her from asking any questions.

Luck was on his side as Judith only gave a mute nod.

.

The theater was a two story building,  Nicholas being royalty, was given the best seat in the building. And of course countless mammals greeted him but the fox stealthily kept his attention on Judith.

Not because he thought she would try to escape but because she was looking around the theater with rapt interest. When they finally arrived in their box she did not sit down with the two foxes, instead leaning over the edge with wide eyes staring at the stage.

When the play started she let out a soft gasp of excitement.

The play was called The Dancing Fox, telling the story of a poor vixen who caught the attention of a noble fox with her dancing.

Nicholas found the story endearing but sappy, however Judith was completely enchanted. Nicholas had took note of how her violet eyes seemed to glitter as she watched the show. He then took note of how he didn't need to be paying such attention to her eyes.

But tragically he didn't take note of that until Judith felt his eyes on her, looking over her shoulder to give the fox a perplexed look. Nicholas had quickly turned his attention back to the stage, pretending he hadn't been staring.

.

"That was amazing," Judith gushed an hour later when they were back in the fox's bedchamber.

"It was _okay_ ," Nicholas corrected from where he was already in bed. Judith was too busy twirling around the room.

"I've never been to a play before," she admitted more to herself than him.

"You didn't act like that," he said dryly.

"But oh the dresses and dances and romance!" she turned and actually smiled at Nicholas. "Their chemistry was palpable!"

Nicholas blinked, suddenly curious of something. "Do you have a buck?"

Judith's twirling came to a stop and she gave the fox a perplexed look, "Pardon?"

"I can't get to sleep, hearing about your life should fix that."

Her brow furrowed slightly at the not-so-hostile insult but nodded, "To answer your question I don't have a buck."

"Ever?"

"Ever," she looked embarrassed by that fact. "Why-why does it matter?"

"It doesn't," he answered her. "But as you'll be with me for the foreseeable future I thought I should know a few things."

Judith's red ears fell against her shoulders, "With all do respect Your Majesty...I'd rather not."

Nicholas cocked his head to the side, he couldn't fault her for that. He wouldn't want to speak about a family he couldn't see, either.

Though the fox supposed he could always release her, but then what would Shenjji and the other rulers think? That he could not handle a rabbit as his ward?

Said rabbit was awkwardly moving from one foot to the other, not meeting the staring king's eyes. "What made you want to bring me to the theater?" she ended up asking.

Nicholas' ears folded back. First Finnick now her? Was he not _allowed_ to take whoever he wished to a play? "I expected a reward was in order for your services," he said in his blunt tone, "Or was I wrong?"

"No-no, it's just..." she looked at him as if he was an unsolvable puzzle piece. "Thank you. I really enjoyed it."

"You're welcome," Nicholas was _not_ a puzzle. He was a perfectly ordinary king who did nothing out of character. No matter what anyone said.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry for how short these chapters have been I'm hoping as the story goes on they'll get longer.  
> The next chapter will be giving the side characters more screen time.


	12. The King's Pet

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> But Bellwether was giving her a pitying look, “You doing such things is the reason the staff talks.”  
> Judith blinked. “What do they say?”  
> Bellwether leaned closer to whisper, “They think the king had bed you.”

Judith looked at the crystal clear lake looking down at her reflection. She wore an eggshell blue gown that showed off her shoulders and bellowed in the wind.

She smiled at herself, music filling her ears as she turned on her heel and twirled away, letting the music pull her like gentle strings.

Closing her eyes she held her arms over her head and spun, the soft grass smooth on her toes, ears and dress flowing in the wind.

All of a sudden warm paws lay over her hips and she smiled to herself, eyes still closed she turned to face her dance partner. The paws that held her hips moved to take her own and replaced the strings, pulling her across the grass and led her to the music.

Judith felt like she was in the sky, her heart warm and her breath coming out in flutters.

Her partner lowered her into a dip and she felt warm lips press against her mouth. Judith let herself be kissed, her euphoria ready to drip from her skin.

When her partner pulled away she fluttered her eyes open, her smile still in place. She stared at a pair of emerald eyes and a long red muzzle.

.

Judith’s eyes popped open, her breath coming out in gasps and sweat sticking to her fur. Pulling herself into a sitting position she saw Nicholas had left.

Heat still pounding from a dream she couldn’t remember Judith slipped into a day dress and left the bed chamber with a mission on her mind.

She had promised to find who had tried to poison Nicholas, and she did not break her promises.

But despite the gears in her head turning Judith did notice the odd looks she was receiving from passing staff. The looks ranged from concerned curiosity and even open disgust.

“Hello, Judith.”

The rabbit stopped and turned to see Bellwether walking to her side. “Good morning.”

“On your way to the kitchen?” the ewe asked as the two continued down the cool hallway.

“Yes, I was hoping to find any clues on who tried to poison His Majesty.” As Judith spoke she kept her eyes on the sheep, she’d be lying if she said she wasn’t suspicious of the sheep.

But Bellwether was giving her a pitying look, “You doing such things is the reason the staff talks.”

Judith blinked. “What do they say?”

Bellwether leaned closer to whisper, “They think the king had bed you.”

“WHAT?!” Judith practically squawked, once again stopping in her tracks, ears bright red. “What gave them that idea?”

“You are with him all the time,” Bellwether pointed out. “He’s taken you to festivals and plays. You even share a bed chamber.”

“I-I’m only his ward.” Judy’s mouth was dry and she tried to swallow, her heart was once again trying to run away.

“I know. But that’s not how you act. And you _are_ a grown woman.”

With that revelation still leaving her ears burning Judith made it to the kitchen with Bellwether behind her.

“Hi!” the chubby cheetah greeted, smile ready. “How can I help you?”

“Do you think I am Nicholas’ mistress?” Judith nearly bit her tongue off but the words were already out.

Bellwether and Clawhauser stared at her and even though the rest of the kitchen kept cooking the chatter had died.

“Oh, um…well…” Clawhauser’s expression was nervous. “ _Are_ you?”

“ _No_ ,” she bit the word out and felt like her ribs had caved in.

“Then it doesn’t matter!” his smile returned. “If mammals are talking just ignore them.”

Judith let out a breath, reminding herself that mammals were probably swapping whispers that the cheetah had been the one to poison the king. But like Nicholas Judith knew he was not responsible.

Clawhauser patted her paw with his smile warming her spirit before turning back to his work. The chattering returned to the kitchen.

With Bellwether enjoying her breakfast Judith walked around the kitchen. While staying out of the staff’s way Judith found her way into a back room. Peering through the dark she saw the silhouettes of crates and baskets. Nose twitching she caught the scent of crops; a few of the crates had food though some were empty.

Still not sure what she was looking for Judith let her mind wander to last night’s play; the music was still dancing in her head. And with it a vague memory of strong paws on her skin.

Judith let out a sigh and sat in the dark, trying to pull back memories of her dream. The song was there…paws were there...a pair of green eyes were there…

 _Nicholas has green eyes_.

Judith shook her head, that awful heat sliding up her ears and down her thighs. She wondered if the king knew of the mistress rumors. She wondered how he would react. “He’d probably be disgusted,” Judith said out loud. “He’d also be disgusted that I’m talking to myself in the dark.”

She stood up and dusted off her dress just as the door opened, shedding light into the pantry.

“What are you doing in here?” Clawhauser asked politely.

“Sorry,” Judith replied. “I’m looking for clues.”

“Clues?”

“On who put the Night Howler in the blueberries.”

“Oh-oh! Why didn’t you say anything?” Clawhauser squeezed in, now a nervous fret. “I’d help you. What do you need?”

“Well…” her mind whirled. “Can you think of anyone who’d wish the king harm?”

Clawhauser pouted, “Bellwether is the only one who openly doesn’t like him. But she’s not part of the kitchen staff, she wouldn’t have the chance.”

He pointed behind her, “Those are the baskets.”

Judith turned around and thanks to the light, saw four empty baskets.

“They arrived a few days before that dinner,” the cheetah explained. “We quickly threw them out when we found out they were poisoned.”

Judith kneeled before the basket and examined them. “Who delivers them?”

“Foxhollow traders.”

“Can you get them here?” Judith asked. Her eyes narrowed at one basket, unlike the others that had Foxhollow red lining, this one had yellow lining… “I’d like to know why this basket has the Grinnigvale’s national colors.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry this is short. I'm not giving up on this story it's just gonna take a while to get it all organized and laid out.  
> And I'm also about to start a beauty and the beast special in celebration for the upcoming remake.


	13. The Ward's Wrath

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "It WOULD be foolish. When do we start?"

Richard had talked much on politics of the Regions in his journal. And had mentioned the national colors of said Regions.

And now Judith must have looked terrifying stalking down the castle's halls-if the way the staff avoided her was anything to go by. Clawhauser had told her that the trades usually stayed in town for a few days and sent a runner to fetch them. Now the husky chef followed after her, looking incredibly intimated. Maybe he could see the steam rising from the bunny's ears.

Not only was trying to poison Nicholas' evil but it was also reckless. He was a _king_ , it would've been one thing if he was a tyrant but Nicholas was nothing like kings of the past. He was a sarcastic, and he was sometimes short-tempered, but all of Foxhollow depended on him to watch over them. And she would choose him over any other monarch.

The two turned a corner and nearly collided with former King Maximilian. Nicholas' father looked startled, taking a step back. "Careful."

"Oh, sorry Your Majesty," Clawhauser apologized.

Judith curtsied, vaguely realizing she had never truly talked to the blue-eyed fox. "Excuse us, Your Grace."

"Where's the fire?" Maximilian asked, walking with the cheetah and rabbit. Clawhauser smiled at him, "Judith is going to clear my name."

Maximilian blinked. "Clear your name? You haven't been blamed for anything."

But before more could be said they had walked into the courtyard the runner, a young antelope, already there. Behind him was a leopard, a deer, and a ram, they must be the traders. Judith stepped before them and the leopard curled his lip. " _You_ made this kid drag us here?"

"I did." Judith's tone was hard and even commanding. Maximilian looked at her with interest. "I'd like to know why one of the baskets you gave us had the colors of Grinningvale?" She wouldn't tell them the king had almost been poisoned. The deer gave her a cool look, "A sheltered bunny like you may not know this but Regions do eat food from other territories."

"I am aware of that," Judith replied. She cocked her head to the side and arched a sardonic brow, "But I wasn't aware they made a habit of trying to poison each other."

The ram looked frightened but the leopard and deer snarled. "How _dare_ you!" the feline snapped, and Judith managed not to flinch. "We would never try to poison a mammal!"

Judith's eyes narrowed, "Very well. Say I believe you, then explain how when I tried some blueberries and nearly ate one covered in night howler."

Their eyes widened but Judith noticed one of them didn't look as surprised as the others, a delayed reaction...not so wide eyes...not as parted lips.

The deer was shaking his head, "We had no idea."

"One of you did. Where did you get the basket?"

Judith was not surprised when the leopard and deer turned their heads to the ram. "Jonas," the leopard began uncertainly. "You went to get supplies in Grinningvale."

Judith's eyes burned into the fidgety ram, Clawhauser and Maximilian quiet behind her. "Where did you get those blueberries, Jonas?" Judith no longer recognized her own voice. Her anger making her fur bristle and make her fists clench against her sides.

The ram's eyes flitted around the other mammals and he reminded Judith of one of her younger brothers. Whenever he had gotten into trouble or didn't want to do his chores he would try to run and hide. Judith braced herself and a second later the ram turned on his heel and dashed off, the other traders letting out yelps of shock. The guards in the court yard, one being a large cape buffalo moved to apprehend him, but Judith was faster. She darted forward, a gray blur, and slammed her small body into his back, sending the two rolling into the dusty ground.

The ram was whimpering as the buffalo tied his hands behind his back, Judith leering over the simpering sheep's head. "I'm sorry," he moaned. "I was just doing my job!"

The buffalo snorted, "Traders don't poison their buyers."

"I was just doing what I was paid to do!"

Judith bared her teeth. "Who paid you?"

.

Judith startled Nicholas when she burst into his office without so much as a knock. "Your Majesty, I-OOF!" She tripped over the hem of her dress and fell to the floor.

"No please, don't know," the fox said drolly, sitting at his desk with quill in paw. "It's not like I'm the king or anything." His sarcasm vanished when his father walked in after Judith.

"It was Shenji," she and Maximilian said in unison. Hearing the hyena's name Nicholas placed the quill on the desk and stood up. "What?"

Judith jumped to her feet, dusting off her dress as she spoke. "One of the traders was paid by the queen to put night howlers in the blueberries."  
Maximilian added, "We just put him in custody." The fox smiled down at Judith, "He would've gotten away with it if not for your ward."

Nicholas stared at them in quiet shock. "She wanted to turn me savage..."

"Shenji wants to overthrow Foxhollow, son." Maximilian's voice was grim.

Nicholas met the older fox's eye. "Pops, do me a favor. Don't tell Mother." Judith mirrored the former king's surprise. Nicholas kept talking, "At least not yet. Tell her now and she'll try to keep me from going to Lionheart's party. But Shenji will be there and she doesn't know I'm on to her, I can try to figure out what her plans are." He suddenly swallowed and gritted his teeth, "And if she insists on a war, then I'll need to gather up an ally or two."

Maximilian nodded, his eyes wary but proud. "Good luck, then."

"I'll come with you," Judith offered quietly.

When Nicholas shook his head she tried to ignore the disappointed ache it caused. But it must have shown on his face because he added, softly. "I don't want that crazy hyena near you. You don't know how she works, she'll try to get information out of you."

Judith wanted to ask what valuable information she knew but then remembered Richard's journal. She learned much about Foxhollow through those written words. Perhaps it _would_ be best if she stayed put, but she still worried for the fox nonetheless.

.

Later that evening Maximilian found Judith in the kitchen chatting with a bouncy Clawhauser. "Could I borrow the little hero?" he asked the cheetah.

"Of, sure," Clawhauser grinned, then quickly added. "Your Majesty."

Judith followed Maximilian out into the hallway. "I think our chef is in love with you," the fox remarked teasingly.

Judith giggled, "He's a sweetheart. What did you need me for, Your Majesty?"

"It wasn't me who wanted to speak to you," Maximilian explained. "It was the Captain of the Guard."

She followed him out into the courtyard and blinked in surprise when she saw the buffalo from before waiting for them. He fixed his intense eyes on the bunny and she didn't know whether to lift her chin or bow. Maximilian spoke, "Judith, this is Bogo."

"You're the king's ward then?" Bogo asked in a way of greeting.

She could only shrug lamely, "I suppose? That's what his Majesty calls me."

"Hm," Bogo hummed. "You didn't carry yourself like a simple ward."

Judith only shrugged again. What was the buffalo getting at? Maximilian must have sensed her confusion because he was the one to cut to the chase, "Bogo thought he could teach you a few fighting movies."

Judith's ears shot up. "But-but I'm a female." _And a rabbit_.

Bogo narrowed his eyes on her, "I was raised by a mother who showed me gender has nothing to do with strength. I saw a fierce light in your eye when you attacked that ram. We'd be foolish not to use it to our advantage."

Judith was shocked but incredibly intrigued by the offer. And since Nicholas was going to be away at Kingsland...

_Since there might be a war..._

"It _would_ be foolish. When do we start?" 

 


	14. Plan B

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Finding the library empty she retrieved the journal from its usual spot and sat in a secluded corner to read. But she couldn’t focus on the words that told of Richard’s favorite history lesson, her mind going miles away to Kingsland. Nicholas had taken his father, a few guards, and a few servants as company, one of those servants being Bellwether.

The guards’ coos of appreciation were like a minstrel’s song to Judith’s ears, encouraging her to do even better as she once again dodged the wooden sword.

She stood on the training ground at one edge of the castle’s territory. The ground was sandy beneath her and she had a crowd of the castle’s guards watching her training session with Bogo.

When the bunny was first brought before the large predators and prey they had of course laughed and thought their captain was joking. But all Judith had needed to do was put on trousers and show them her speed, her endurance, and her determination and she quickly became popular. It also helped that she was a fast learner, her paws adept at handling swords and bows.

Bogo swung the sword and Judy parried with her own, the impact rattling her bones and she quickly jumped a few feet back to collect herself. The buffalo nodded at her with approval, “A good block, Hopps. But remember your advantage is your speed and unassuming size.”

Judith nodded as he added: “And also use your enemy’s size to your advantage.”

He swung his sword before he finished speaking and Judith ducked, her ears grazing the flat of the artificial weapon. Taking the buffalo’s advice to heart, she darted between Bogo’s legs and slamming her sword into his ankle. The attack sent the buffalo to his knees, Judy hopping a few steps back to not be crushed. “Are you alright, sir?” she asked with concern.

Bogo smirked at her, “Never apologize for victory, Hopps.” He stood up and called for a break, Judith’s shoulders fell. There was never enough practice for her, and she only had so many things to occupy her time.

And while she wouldn’t admit it out loud the reason for her boredom was- “When the king returns he’ll find a bodyguard instead of a ward,” Wolford joked as he and Grizzoli passed her on the way to the mess hall. She jokingly curtsied to them, her ears warm.

Following the rest of the guards inside Judith slipped away and to the library. With Nicholas gone to Kingsland she had the time to read Richard’s journal without worry of being caught. Finding the library empty she retrieved the journal from its usual spot and sat in a secluded corner to read. But she couldn’t focus on the words that told of Richard’s favorite history lesson, her mind going miles away to Kingsland. Nicholas had taken his father, a few guards, and a few servants as company, one of those servants being Bellwether.

The ewe had been less than thrilled. “Why do _I_ have to go?” she had asked Judith. “Why didn’t he invite _you_?”

Judith couldn’t tell her it was because Shenzi might try something, and if she didn’t Judith would. The thought of what destruction that hyena had almost caused still made her see red. But Judith realized the twists of her insides wasn’t just anger at the hyena, but jealousy of Bellwether. Judith had wanted to go to Kingsland and despite Nicholas’ solid points she was frustrated he took Bellwether instead, Bellwether who always made her dislike known.

The rabbit let out a sigh and a moment later a voice called out: “Judith?” Recognizing Manchas’ burr she quickly put the journal back and stood up, fixing the wrinkles in her shirt and trousers.

The jaguar appeared from around a shelf and blinked when he saw her. “What are you doing here?”

She shrugged with false nonchalance, “Killing time.”

“Your sigh made it sound like you didn’t have a friend in the world.”

Judith’s head burrowed between her shoulders, embarrassed, “I suppose I just have too much free time when I’m not being the king’s shadow.”

Manchas hummed, looking over her thoughtfully, “Would you like to go into town with me? I’m running errands and could use an extra set of paws.”

The thought of going past the castle walls nearly made her growl with hunger and she didn’t want to hesitate on taking the jaguar up on his offer. But still, “Is that allowed?”

He smiled sneakily at her, “I don’t think anyone could argue when we’re buying ingredients for medicine.”

That was a good enough answer for Judith.

But before she went to the market Nicholas had arrived at Kingsland.

.

Nicholas always had a sense that Leodore’s castle was compensating for something. While the large size of the castle wasn’t unordinary the decoration was downright unnecessary and garish. Seven fountains in one courtyard, banners made of the finest silk, and statues of several sizes and shapes, one even so tall it nearly touched the ceiling. Since Kingsland was one of the prosperous Regions know Leodore liked to lavish himself with the finest, though Nicholas imagined he could put a little more of that money into helping his citizens. But the fox wasn’t here to criticize; he was here to stay on the lion’s good side in case Shenzi had to be put down.

But not today, today Nicholas and his father were greeted by Leodore with hardy pats on the back.

King Otterton was already there, smiling in greeting to Nicholas. But Shenzi was already there also, and if she was confused by Nicholas not being feral she didn’t show it.

Her smile was wide and fake, “It’s so nice to see you again, Nicholas.”

His smile was just as faux, “The pleasure’s all mine, Shenzi.”

He bowed to her as was the etiquette and she replied with a curtsy. But when she lowered her body Nicholas noticed a hyena behind her. She was smaller than Nicholas and looked to be the same age as Judith if not a few years older. She wore a yellow and black dress that was of Grinningvale royalty but she looked like she had an invisible noose around her neck.

Shenzi noticed Nicholas’s look, “Ah, yes.” She straightened up and pulled the younger hyena forward, “Don’t you remember my daughter, Nicholas? This is Jasiri.”

“Oh,” Nicholas, “Jasiri.” He remembered her now; back when he was a kit Shenzi and her late husband would sometimes bring their daughter to royal events, but she had never looked fun to play with and at that age Nicholas had assumed all females were gross. “It’s good to see you again.”

She nodded to him, still looking jumpy, “Your Majesty.”

Leodore suddenly spoke up, “Now that everyone’s here how let us enjoy food and drink and dance.” He smiled at the three different monarchs, happy but with a tinge of desperation. He wasn’t as big of an idiot as Nicholas liked to joke, he knew of the deadly tension between Nicholas and Shenzi and that he might have to one day decide whose side to take in the future.

Maxmilian, staying next to the Foxhollow guards and spoke up, “I think I’ll have to take you up on that offer, Leodore. I’m parched.” He nodded to his son and made his way to the large, luxuriant table to the left of the room that was covered in all kinds of food and drink, King Otterton followed after him. Shenzi suddenly snatched Jasiri’s arm in a grip that looked painful and, with another fake smile, excused herself and dragged her daughter off to a corner of the room.

Nicholas, still standing by Leodore’s side, watched the two hyenas whispering furiously to each other, wishing he could read their lips. Shenzi looked dangerously irritated and Jasiri looked like the noose was tightening around her throat.

But then Leodore pulled his attention back, “I see you brought some of your servants, Nicholas.”

The fox turned to him, “I like to show off.” But there was no point in talking but Leodore wasn’t really listening, his focus on a sour-faced Bellwether who was glaring out at the dancing crowd. The lion had always been interested in her for some reason, Nicholas guessed it was because the ewe was not afraid to show her dislike of predators and that fascinated the lion.

Nicholas almost offered to give the servant to Leodore as a joke but feared the lion would actually really want her. And while Nicholas didn’t like the sheep he was pretty positive Judith did so… _and I for some reason bring her opinion into my decisions_.

A paw on his shoulder pulled Nicholas out of his thoughts and he turned around to see Jasiri standing before him, she still looked terrified but now she was trying to smile sweetly at him. “Your-Your Majesty,” she began, “It would…it would be my greatest pleasure if…” her words trailed off and she looked over her shoulder, Nicholas followed her gaze to see Shenzi a few feet away, glaring at her daughter. The young hyena swallowed and turned back to Nicholas, “Would you dance with me?”

His brows arched and he slowly looked her up and down, wondering if she could be hiding a dart full of night howler on her person. But he could see no place to hide it, and by the way Jasiri wrung her wrists and trembled in place she would miss if she tried to stab him. And maybe he could get some information out of her…

Nicholas took her paw without a word and pulled her to the dance floor, faintly amused by the shell-shocked expression the princess gave him. And Nicholas also noticed the sly and evil look Shenzi gave them before turning to grab a glass of wine. Nicholas’s eyes narrowed as he pulled Jasiri into his arms. What was their game?

The music was a soft, romantic melody that Nicholas had heard so many times he had to hold back a yawn. He led Jasiri across the dance floor that was full of other animals dancing, all looking like they were having more fun than the fox and hyena.

After a few moments of silent steps and spins he spoke, “You’ve grown.”

Jasiri blinked, and it took her a few seconds to find a response. “So have you.”

He smirked at her, holding her waist to lift her up and spin her around. “I didn’t see you at my coronation,” he pointed out casually as he placed her back on her feet.

Jasiri swallowed and looked sincerely guilty, something Nicholas hadn’t expected from Shenzi’s offspring. “I-I am sorry. But my mother was there.”

 _Yes and she was such a sight for sore eyes_. “I think I would’ve preferred talking to you, you’re more approachable.” Better to approach a mammal that looked ready to run than a mammal that looked ready to go for your throat.

But Jasiri looked flustered by his comment and glanced away, “That’s-that’s very kind of you to say…Your Majesty. But my mother needed me to look after our kingdom while she was gone; I’m an only child you know.” To be honest Nicholas didn’t, he had never tried to look at Shenzi’s personal life. And if she left her heir at home most of the time it told Nicholas he shouldn’t be worried about her.

“Is she teaching you?” Nicholas asked.

Jasiri blinked, “Teaching me what?”

“Teaching you to be Queen,” Nicholas almost felt sorry for her that he had to explain himself. He could imagine Shenzi spending all her days thinking of ways to overthrow him instead of paying attention to the future ruler of Grinningvale.

Jasiri swallowed and looked even more uncomfortable, “I can’t say, sir.”

Nicholas offered her a sympathetic smile, “I can see you’re not having much fun.”

Her eyes bulged in fright and she opened her mouth but before she could speak he continued, “Its fine. Don’t feel obligated to dance with me just because I’m a king.”

“Yes, sir,” she breathed but didn’t break away from him. Nicholas inwardly sighed and decided to let her be. His mind trying to figure out who this hyena reminded him of… He blinked when he realized Jasiri reminded him of Judith, or at least, how the rabbit used to be. She was different now, and he imagined if he was dancing with her instead she would be nervous but not frightened. She might even smile, might even laugh so her violet eyes would sparkle. He’d joke with her, maybe even tickle her. Her fur was so soft…

Nicholas suddenly jolted and pushed Jasiri away, startling her. Nicholas’s fur was bristling and his breathing was heavy. “A-Apologies,” he told the hyena, nodding to her, “If you’ll excuse me.” He walked past her and toward the table of treats, his eyes on the wine. His nerves felt shot, his heart hurt it was pounding so fast and his mouth was dry. But his mind wouldn’t stop; it wouldn’t stop thinking of Judith. He tried to think of anything else, his work, his family, vixens, but his mind always turned around to go back to the rabbit, admiring her velvety fur and beautiful eyes. Nicholas couldn’t breathe.


	15. Not As You Seem

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Another chapter brought by a wonderful commissioner. May God bless you with kittens and puppies and rainbows. 
> 
> Judith nodded, “I miss you too. Is-is Gideon Grey still bothering our family?”  
> Rose blinked, confused. “Why would he do that?”

Even though Manchas had Judith carry all the grocery bags (herbs were heavier than she had assumed), the rabbit couldn’t help but enjoy the rare freedom. She breathed in the scent of the bakery, of the smoke of cooking fire, and nearby gardens. She listened to children laughing and minstrels singing and the chatter of the market. Despite the crowd around her she felt free.

Manchas was standing before a stall that was selling fresh fruits, examining an apple with a critical eye.

“What ailments can apples cure?” Judith asked him.

“Nothing,” Manchas replied. “I just promised my assistant I’d pick him up an apple.”

Judith blinked, “I wasn’t aware you had an assistant. Why didn’t you bring him with you instead?”

“Because every time we both leave the castle we return to find it in chaos splinters in paws, colds, bleeding cuts, burns, it’s like living in a castle full of infants.”

Judith chuckled at his words, her eyes pulling away to slowly rove over the market place before eventually moving off to the hills far beyond the town. The trail that led over those hills also led to Kingsland. Judith wondered when Nicholas would return. She knew it took a few days to get to the other Region but a few days had already passed. He could be back today. And it annoyed her how that made her happy.

Yes, their relationship was no longer as tense and hostile as before but that didn’t mean she liked him.

But then she heard a voice, a voice that made her heart break but brought a smile to her face. Judith whirled around to see a familiar shape running across the marketplace to her.

Judith dropped the bags of supplies and opened her arms, “ _Rose_!”

Her sister nearly tackled Judith to the ground, wrapping her arms around her little sister and crying into her shoulder. Judith returned the embrace and let out a broken yet happy sob, “Rose!”

The older rabbit pulled back and held Judith’s face in her paws, looking her over, “Oh, _Judith_! I didn’t think I’d ever see you again!”

Judith smiled, tears streaming down her cheeks, “Me either.”

“Are you okay?” Rose asked with worry. “How are you?”

“I-I’m fine,” she replied, taking Rose’s paws and holding them in her own. “Life in the castle has actually…it actually hasn’t been that bad.” Judith’s ears fell and it was her turn to look at her sister, “What about you? Is everyone okay?”

“We miss you,” Rose breathed.

Judith nodded, “I miss you too. Is-is Gideon Grey still bothering our family?”

Rose blinked, confused. “Why would he do that?”

Judith’s brow furrowed and she wondered if her sister had hit her head. “Because he’s _Gideon Grey_ , it’s what he does.”

“Judith, Gideon Grey isn’t our landowner anymore. King Nicholas sent a mammal to Bunnyburrow to discharge him.”

Judith’s jaw dropped. Nicholas had told her he would help her family but she had never truly believed him. “How-how much is the rent now?”

“The mammal the king sent named father the new landowner, we don’t have rent anymore. And we get to keep much more of our crops than originally, king’s orders.”

Judith was ready to cry, Nicholas had more than kept his promise.

Rose was now looking at her with a newfound interest, “What kind of influence did you make on the fox?”

“What do you mean?”

“I don’t think the king knew Bunnyburrow existed before he met you,” Rose pointed out.

“I’m sure he did!” Judith defended, “Gideon Grey was just good at hiding his injustice.”

But Rose was still insisting Judith had something to do with the sudden good fortune and the more she talked the more flustered Judith got. She made it sound like she was ruling Foxhollow alongside Nicholas.

Manchas suddenly stood before the two, smiling kindly at Rose before looking to Judith. “It’s time to go, dearie. I’m sure someone’s tripped and is crying for me by now.”

Judith looked to her sister, expression torn. But Rose was smiling at her with understanding, “No, it’s okay. I don’t know what you’re doing up in that castle Judith but it’s making a difference. I can see you’re well, and you now know we’re fine.”

“Maybe-maybe I can see you again,” Judith offered. “But please give the rest of our family my love.”

The two sisters kissed each other in farewell and Judith released her sister’s paws to follow Manchas back to the castle.

She couldn’t really tell what she was feeling. There was heartache for having to leave her sister, relief her family was fine…and…she was excited to see Nicholas again, if only to tell him thank you.

.

Manchas was right. When they returned to the castle Del Gato had twisted his ankle, trying to wrestle with Fangmeyer. Judith, thinking it would be useful, shadowed the jaguar as he bandaged the lion’s ankle.

After helping Del Gato to his room she walked to the library to get some reading done, since there were other mammals in the library, one of them being Amelia, Judith decided to find a random book to read. She chose one about a thrilling romance, hiding away in a corner and trying not to draw attention.

When she had finished the story-it had been about two wolves from different tribes who had ended up bringing their clans together-the library was dark with evening and the library was empty. Judith returned the book to its shelf and walked out into the hallway, her arms swinging by her side.

Bogo tended to turn in early and the rest of the guards would either be on duty or relaxing so she had no one to spar with. Clawhauser would be busy making dinner so she couldn’t go and have a chat. Amelia she could consider a friend but the vixen would probably realize Judith missed her son and that would just be embarrassing.

So she decided a walk in the gardens would do until she got tired.

The full moon cast a silvery light over the flowers and hedges, crickets singing their song into the night, fireflies dotting the sky and fluttering past her. As she walked Judith was quiet and peaceful and on her own, until she found herself at the pond to see someone was already in the garden.

The pond was surrounded by a stone ring, the water decorated with lily pads and cattails. And sitting on that stone, feet in the moonlit water, was Nicholas. His ear flicked and he slowly turned his head to see her. He didn’t look that surprised by her presence. But Judith was. “When did you get back?”

“A few hours ago,” he replied. “Surprised no one told you.”

Judith didn’t wait to be invited; she sat on her knees next to the king and looked at him with intense interest and curiosity, “How did it go? Did Shenzi say anything?”

“She didn’t say anything about the night howlers if that’s what you mean.” Nicholas released a tired sigh and placed his paws on his knees. “No, now she has a new plan for taking over my Region. She wants me to marry her daughter.”

Judith’s mouth fell and she looked at him with utter disbelief, “ _What_?”

“She’s got this nervous little daughter named Jasiri, see. She’s a few years older than you. She asked to dance with me and I knew there was something weird going on but all I got from Jasiri is she’s a nervous wreck who is woefully unprepared for the life of a monarch. But then when I was enjoying some wine Shenzi came over and started a conversation about her daughter, which eventually led to her bluntly saying her daughter needs a king and I’m the perfect candidate.”

Judith’s eyes were wide, “What did you say?”

“You mean after I spewed my wine over an innocent guest? Nothing, Leodore called me over to have a chat and I avoided Shenzi for the rest of the night while drinking lots and lots of wine.” But the glaze in his eyes he was still under the drink’s affect, if just a little. Judith looked at her reflection in the water, “What are you going to do?”

Nicholas looked at her through the water, “I don’t know yet…”

They dwindled into silence for a few moments before he turned his head back to her, “How was everything while I was away?”

Judith, remembered what she had found out just that day, turned to him and smiled, the fox slightly startled by the sudden joyful expression. “Thank you.”

He blinked, “For what?”

“I went with Manchas to the market today,” she explained, hoping that wouldn’t upset him. “I was helping him buy herbs when I ran into my sister. She told me what you did, you discharged Gideon Grey so he couldn’t make my family suffer anymore.” Her smile was still in place but she was looking at him like he was the most interesting and complex puzzle, “Every time I think I know you something happens and I see you in a new light.”

He snorted, “Yes, I’m such an odd creature for keeping my promises. But I could say the same for you.”

Judith’s brow furrowed, “What do you mean?”

“When I first met you, you were terrified; you couldn’t stop shaking and didn’t know what to do with yourself. Then you were annoying, and _then_ you saved my life not once but _twice_. And _then_ you found out Shenzi’s evil plan and _now_ you’ve impressed my Captain of the Guard to the point he’s taken his own time to train you. You are a deep well, Carrots. And it utterly _frustrates_ me.”

Judith honestly couldn’t tell if his words were meant to be a compliment or not, but he definitely looked annoyed with her all of a sudden. So she pouted, “That’s not my fault. You’re confused by what I’m capable of because I’m a rabbit.”

Nicholas’s arched a brow, “Oh?”

Judith nodded, “Yes, because you were raised to be a king and as a king you see prey as all royalty see them. To you prey are just simple tools to help you run your Region, they are painted as nothing else. True, prey are allowed to be things like guards but that’s the closest form of authority they are given, and still prey are usually seen as servants and farmers. But because I’m your ward I was able to see my potential, I’m allowed to do things most prey are not allowed to do, even my sister said I was becoming an influence on this castle. Some of the guards even said I could become your bodyguard, and just today I learned how to help a mammal with a twisted ankle. I plan on using my potential and talent to the fullest and I’d like to hope that one day other prey are given the same opportunities.”

When Judith took a breath Nicholas was looking at her as if _she_ was the puzzle, a puzzle he had never seen before and he wondered if he should be anywhere near it.

Judith’s ears fell and her shoulders drooped, “I’m sorry,” she apologized, realizing that might not have been the nicest thing to say to a king. “My-uh, my mouth has run away with me.” The last time she did that she had been a small child…

But Nicholas’s words caught her off guard, “On the contrary.” His smile was, dare she say, affectionate. And his eyes…it glittered with something Judith had never seen before. “It’s your mouth that has me utterly hypnotized.”

The next moment Judith felt she was watching it from outside her body, watching in silent and shock as Nicholas lifted his paw and gentle held the side of her jaw. She continued watch as Nicholas, a king, a predator, a fox, leaned down and pressed his lips against her own.


	16. Insecurity

Judith had gone into shock when the fox’s lips touched hers, it was a simple press of the lips but her fur still stood on end.

A few seconds that felt like an eternity and Nicholas pulled away, and Judith didn’t understand how his expression was so causal when her world was imploding.

The fox let out a yawn that startled her. “I’m tired,” he stated. “I think I’ll go to bed early.” He stood up and turned on his heel without so much as a glance at her. “Goodnight, Carrots.”

He was out of sight when Judith found her voice. “What?” She grabbed her ears, “WHAT?”

Not sure what to do Judith slipped into the pond to cool her thoughts. Holding her breath under the water and hoping the cold liquid would wash away the burning of her mouth. She had no idea what to think…was that even legal? The only acceptable time a king kissed someone below his station was when-when the lower mammal was his mistress. Judith gasped then remembered she was under water, swimming through air bubbles she spluttered to the surface, coughing.

“I-I’m not his mistress,” she told the night. “I never agreed to it-and he didn’t say _anything_! He was just teasing me!”

Still, Judith had no intention of going back into the castle or Nicholas’ bed chamber. She needed time alone to calm down and figure out what she was going to do.

As she walked through the gardens to the training grounds her eyes were on her feet and her head was whirling. Odds were this really was a joke, now that she really thought about it Nicholas would do something like that. Still she didn’t know how she could go on pretending like everything was normal, like the kiss had never happened. But…what if that wasn’t the case? What if he had been serious and _did_ want her as a mistress? What would Judith do? She supposed she could run away, start a new life in the islands of Riverway or in the mountains of Kingsland. But that felt like the coward’s way out.

But at the same time she _couldn’t_ be his mistress!

She planned to one day, somehow, leave. And when she did she wanted to fall in love…maybe have a litter or two. But no buck would have her if she wasn’t a maiden…

Grass gave way to sand and the training ground stood before Judith. She decided whacking a straw animal with a stick was a good way to ease her nerves.

.

Nicholas was mature enough to admit that _maybe_ his mother had had a point at his coronation. His lack of female companionship had him kissing Judith and his insides were twisted painfully throughout his walk down the castle’s hallways. Luckily no mammal that passed him noticed. And when he spotted Finnick, he was always loitering around; he dragged him to a deserted hallway to confess to his friend.

And the fennec laughed.

“It’s not my fault though,” Nicholas assured himself over the laughter. “I’m a grown mammal who spends far too much time with a rabbit instead of a vixen. I mean think about it, Carrots still follows me around like a shadow and eats dinner with us, _we share_ _a bed_! And- _and_ -I was still under the influence of alcohol, that’s all. Any mammal in my place would’ve done the same and STOP LAUGHING AND HELP ME!”

Finnick calmed down and wiped away a tear, still grinning. “Help you with what?”

“My dilemma!” Nicholas tried to keep his voice calm but his bristling fur betrayed him. Finnick’s thick brows furrowed, “What? You don’t want that rabbit as your mistress?”

Nicholas’ eyes narrowed and his teeth flashed, “No. I don’t.”

She was his ward and a _rabbit_! Besides the Foxhollow royalty weren’t ones to keep consorts, Nicholas didn’t need more than one lover. But he still needed a distraction. As if reading his mind Finnick spoke, “I know a nice tavern in town, full of vixens, if you need to relieve that tension that bunny caused. We can go tomorrow after your kingly duties are done.”

“That’s exactly what I need.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay everyone. Let us all take a breath. I will not and never will abandon this story. BUT it is not my only project, I have many and only when I am in a Foxhollow mood, plus I only have so much of it planned out.  
> So while you guys wait for more Foxhollow feel free to check out my other works.


	17. Under the Storm

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "I DIDN'T KNOW IF YOU WERE COMING BACK!" she suddenly screeched.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No body make a big deal out of this.

"Judith?"

The rabbit whirled around, wooden sword in paw, to nearly whack Garry right in the head. The wolf jumped back with a yelp, paws held up in surrender.

" _Sorry_!" she apologized, lowering her arms and wobbling in place. "I didn't-I didn't see you."

The wolf swallowed and cocked his head to the side, "Are you okay? How long have you been out here?"

"Not sure," she replied, rubbing at her eyes. "When does the sun come up?"

"The sun's been up for _hours_!" the wolf balked. "It's almost night!"

Judith lifted her head to see that the sun was half-hidden by far off mountains, and that the sky was currently covered in dark clouds. The sight of said clouds made Judy's heart thump painfully.

Garry was still looking at her with horror, "Judith, have you been training all night?"

"I had some stress to work off," Judith answer, rubbing at her mouth.

"Well…is your stress all worked off?"

Judith furrowed her brow, she still didn't want to be anywhere near Nicholas, but she definitely didn't want to hit another straw animal again. "I guess, yeah."

"Then how about you go get some sleep?" the wolf offered, "I'll tell Bogo you need the rest, which wouldn't be lying because you clearly do."

"Yes…" she nodded and abruptly dropped the sword, walking toward the castle while trying to keep her balance. "Yes, I can do that…"

She was almost out of earshot when Garry added, "Judith, don't you sleep in the king's bedchambers?"

Judith flinched and came to a halt, she looked over her shoulder, "I do…" she said warily.

"Then you'll have it all to yourself, the king and Lord Finnick just left," Garry informed. "They went to a tavern; Finnick said something about vixens…"

"Oh…" Judith breathed, "…Good for them."

She turned on her heel and hurried inside.

.

Nicholas only took sips of the ale he was offered, obviously he didn't make the best decisions when he was intoxicated, but it was a hard feat considering how annoying he found the tavern owners.

The building had become incredibly lively when he and Finnick had arrived, the bartenders and waitresses ignoring their other customers in favor of royalty. Finnick shooed them away after a while and the table got a bit quieter, a band playing in the corner of the tavern for background noise.

"So, see any vixens you fancy?" Finnick asked, already on his second drink.

Nick laid his chin on his paws and looked around the room, there will many vixens, all attractive in their own right, but none really catch his eye.

Until one literally caught his eye, a vixen across the room, clearly not a waitress but instead there to grab the attention of customers, her fur was a deep red and eyes rich brown. She smiled at Nicholas, a causal smile, like she wasn't before royalty. And the fox supposed…she would do.

.

The tavern had a second floor with rooms to sleep and for other activities. The vixen, he didn't bother with her name that wasn't the point of this night, had pinned him down and was nuzzling into his neck, kissing his throat and moving to his collarbone. Nicholas held her hips between his paws, kneading his claws against her flesh, he could do that, she was used to claws, he wouldn't accidentally hurt her…

She moved her mouth to his lips and he returned her kiss, letting his eyes fall shut. Her tongue tasted like strawberries, her paw pads running across his opened shirt, they were rough. And as she moved against him Nicholas thought about sugared strawberries, how uncomfortable her paws and claws felt against him, he found himself wishing her paws were softer, nails blunter. Her teeth ran against his lip and he flinched, finding the prick of her canines surprising.

The vixen had felt his flinch and pulled back to look at him with confusion and Nick studied her fur, it was a pretty shade but…he realized she would be beautiful if her fur was gray. And violet eyes were so much lovelier than brown…

Nicholas jolted in place, startling the vixen. He quickly crawled out from under her, mumbled something he expected could be seen as an apology and left. Not just the room, he left the tavern.

And as he walked he buried his paws in his face and growled, he had been in bed with a vixen and all he could think about was that _rabbit_ , all he could compare it to was that _rabbit_. What had she done to him? Why was he suddenly so obsessed? Was it because they had spent so much time together? Was Shenzi's threat to have him wed her daughter bothering him more than he knew?

He didn't know, and it _enraged_ him.

And to just make his mood worse it started raining.

By the time he walked into the castle he was soaked to the bone and thunder was rumbling the castle's walls, lighting flashing from the window. Nicholas shooed away any servants trying to insist they help him clean up, he was a grown mammal, he was ruler of a region, he could take care of himself and that included his emotions that refused to make any sense.

As he walked up his stairs to his bedchambers he made a decision, he had to move Judith. She had to stay in the servants quarters, having her sleep in his room, in his bed, was causing too many complications. He had to put a stop to this.

They weren't lovers, they weren't even friends.

She was his ward and nothing more.

He opened the door to tell her just that only to see-she wasn't here.

He blinked, looking around the empty room, "Judith?"

Suddenly a gray blur crawled out from under his bed and suddenly Judith was standing before him, breathing so fast her chest heaving and eyes wide with exhaustion and anger. "Well, I hope you had _fun_."

The ire in her voice made him start, "Excuse me?"  
"Spending all night with tavern vixens, that's certainly how kings should behave," she hissed, her clenched fists shaking. Nicholas slightly wondered if she planned on hitting him.

He cocked his eyebrow, "Pardon me, I wasn't aware I needed to ask your permission to-"

"I DIDN'T KNOW IF YOU WERE COMING BACK!" she suddenly screeched.

Her outburst left them in silent, Nicholas staring wide eyed and Judith looking ready to pass out. But before he could even think of reply thunder crashed and lighting flashed, and Judith let out a blood-curdling scream.

She fell to her knees, pulling her ears to cover her face and trying to curl into herself, her body shaking uncontrollably. Nicholas' eyes widened, "Judith, what-Oh. You're afraid of thunder and lighting…"

She nodded, making the most pathetic whimper he had ever heard. Feeling helpless the fox knelt down and reached his paw out, but stopped just before he touched her. This was a bad idea; this wasn't going to help his problem. He should call someone else, one of the many friends she had made amongst the staff; send her away to be their problem.

But she looked so _small_ , this was the same rabbit who had saved him from a savage wolf, had knocked him down to save him from being poisoned, and would probably do even more before this year was up.

"Judith," he tried to speak as softly as possible, wanting to ease her nerves. "What do you usually do when there are thunder storms?"

"I-I didn't do anything," she sniffled, she was crying. "My family would always just…surround me. Would hug me and sing my lullabies to help me get to sleep. They'd-they'd just be _there_.

But they're not there anymore, because of him.

Judith's bristled when Nicholas suddenly put his arms around her and pulled her to his chest, he moved so she was sitting in his lap and his heart was pounding in her ear. Why was it pounding so hard?  
He started to hum the old song his mother used to sing to him, the same song he ended up humming all the time, especially when he was at his desk doing work. Judith was still shivering, her paw clutching his shirt and her tears dampening his neck. His humming turned to singing, his lips breathing across her ear; he started to rub her back and wrapped his tail around her. She really was so, so soft.

Finally, even though the storm still raged outside she released a shuddering breath, "Thank you…Nicholas…"

There was no going back from this point.


	18. Sore Back

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Regardless, I think it's time we made a change in our relationship."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Special thanks to my pal Erin whose donations has eased my worry about food and rent and allowed me to work on four new chapters.

Richard had been curled up in bed, reading a book of adventures while he listened to the rain pour and the fire crackle. A clap of thunder startled him, but when he realized it was just noise he returned to the paragraph in his book-only to be interrupted by knocking.   
Sighing he put his book down and climbed out of the bed to answer his chamber's door, only to see his sniffling baby brother.

  
"Nicholas?" he blinked, "What's wrong? Did you have a nightmare?"

  
The kit nodded, hiccuping as he wiped his teary eyes, "Yeah."

  
Richard tried to sigh but it turned into a cough. "Can't be helped," he said when he caught his breath. "Let's go cover up. This castle is always freezing."

He grabbed his brother's paw and led him to the bed. The warm blankets were incredibly welcomed by the older fox, meanwhile Nicholas burrowed his dirty nose into Richard's rib.

  
"Don't worry, Nicholas," Richard assured, patting his brother's head. "You won't have nightmares with me around."

  
The kit whimpered, "R-Really?"

  
"Of course," Richard yawned and closed his eyes, "I am your precious..."

  
.

  
"Precious..."

  
Nicholas' mumble breathed against Judith's ear and she blinked her eyes open. She and the fox had ended up falling asleep on the stone floor, their fur now chill. Remembering her panic attack from last night Judith's ears flushed with mortification and slipped out of the king's arms. Her left arm was asleep from where she had laid on it and her body made awful creaking sounds as she moved.

  
"Majesty..." Judith shook the fox's shoulder. "Your Majesty."

  
Nicholas pulled his lips back in a loud yawn and moved to stretch-only to go completely still a second later, eyes now wide in fear. His back had just made the most horrifying cracking noise.

  
"Are-are you okay?" Judith asked worriedly.

  
The fox swallowed, "I don't want to find out." His eyes turned to her, "How are you?"

  
She swallowed, "Better now...thank you. You-you didn't have to help me."

  
He rolled his eyes, "Yes, cause I could sleep through your screaming."

  
Judith glanced away and Nicholas added softly, "But your welcome."

  
They dwindled into a temporary silence before Judith spoke again, "Can you sit up?"

  
Nicholas slowly and warily pulled up onto his elbows and then up into a hunched sitting position, his muzzle a grimace.

  
"I'm sorry," Judith breathed, ears having fallen to her shoulders.

  
Nicholas cautiously placed a paw on his back, "I'm old, Fluff. Not your fault."

  
"You're not that old," Judith pushed herself to her feet and walked around the fox to study his spine.

  
"What are you doing?" he demanded, tone on edge.

  
Judith's lips were pursed, "If you like...I might be able to help."

  
"How?"

  
Judith slammed her heel into the middle of Nicholas' spine, there was another crack and his back straightened.

  
"WHY DID YOU-" his yell broke off as he twisted his back this way and that. "Oh."

  
Judith bit back a smug smile as he turned around to look at her, "How did you know to do that?"

  
She shrugged, "It worked on my grandfather."

  
"Hmm," he looked away, "Now I feel ancient."

  
She giggled again, "You are NOT that old, Your Majesty." She walked away, deciding to keep her paws busy and starting the king's bath.

  
Nicholas stretched out the rest of his kinks, "It feels like it sometimes... Look at me."

  
Surprised by his sudden serious tone Judith turned around to meet his emerald eyes, "Yes?"

  
"About the kiss-"

  
"No."

  
Her interruption made him stop, "What?"

  
Judith was shaking her head, her skin crawling, "We don't need to talk about this, you were intoxicated and no harm was done. I'm not upset."

  
Nicholas' ears were pulled back and his lips were a think black line, "I only wanted-"

  
"It is FINE...Your Majesty."

  
It was not fine, she was upset. But Nicholas didn't want to force her to talk about this.

  
He cleared his throat as Judith started a fire to heat the water, "Regardless, I think it's time to make a change in our relationship."

  
Judith had picked up the pot of water but stopped dead in her tracks when he said those words. She looked at him nervously, "I wasn't aware we had a...relationship."

  
He lifted his chin, "Well, we do now. Now we're friends."

  
"Oh," Judith placed the water over the fire, "Okay."

  
Nicholas flexed his claws and looked anywhere except at her. The only friend he had ever had was Finnick and he was different than Judith-the fennec didn't make Nicholas nearly as nervous.   
He cleared his throat yet again, "I-"

  
A frantic knocking startled the rabbit and Nicholas released a breath, part annoyed and relieved for the interruption: "Enter."

A gangly gazelle, one of the advisors came in looking frantic, a letter between his hooves. "Pardon me, Sire. But I have an urgent letter from Riverway."

  
Nicholas excepted the letter, his tail bristled.

  
Judith took a step forward, "Your Majesty?"

  
He folded the letter primly, "Shenzi looks to be pestering everyone." He turned to her, "Do you want to go to Riverway?"

Judith blinked, "...Okay."


	19. Rendezvous in Riverway

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> He could let you go home.

Judith collected a few things, including Richard's journal which she hid under her clothes, then climbed into the carriage. It would just be she, Nicholas, and a handful of guards. She tried to ask what Shenzi had done to Riverway but the fox told her not to worry, he would handle it.

  
He then fell asleep.

  
Judith let him be, he was no doubt still tired from sleeping on the floor. But not wanting to read Richard's journal until she was behind closed doors. So to pass time Judith leaned against the window to watch the country side pass her by. As the fields turned into forests her brain wandered back to her family's farm and wondered how they fared. Very well, according to Rose, and that filled her with ease. Really, if it had only taken her giving herself to royalty she would've done it ages ago.

  
She lifted her paw to trace her lips, eyes trailing back to the softly snoring fox. She wondered if he'd ever let her visit home.

  
 _Now_ _we're_ _friends_.

  
With his sudden insistence to win her affections Judith was starting to believe the king would do anything she asked.

  
 _He_ _could_ _let_ _you_ _go_ _home_.

  
The temptation to ask was hard to fight back, and really, she shouldn't. After everything that had happened she deserved to return to her family.

But...with Shenzi trying to cause so much trouble with poisons and threats and proposals, Judith couldn't go back to farming carrots until it was all solved.

  
.

  
"CARROTS!"

  
Judith had only just stepped out of the carriage when she was embraced by the Otterton princes.

  
"Hello, Your Highnesses," she smiled at them, arms stuck to her side.

  
Nicholas, begins ignored by the children, let out a loud huff, "There's no respect for elders these days."

  
The king and queen stayed at the entrance of their palace but despite the smiles worry creased their eyes. Nicholas looked to Judith, "Keep the princes busy while I talk to their parents?"

  
She nodded solemnly and let the otter lead her away, Nicholas turned to King Emmitt.

  
"She has gone _insane_ ," Emmitt hissed, speaking of the unhinged Grinningvale queen as they walked the palace halls. "Talking how your two Regions are basically at war."

  
Nicholas' lip was pulled back in distaste, "She'd make a pacifist priest want to wage war. She must suspect that I won't be intimidated to the point where I'd actually wed her daughter."

  
Octavia's eyes bulged, "She wants you to marry Jasiri?"

  
"She's so desperate to have my Region she's trying every strategy at the exact same time... has she always been like this?" Nicholas knew Shenzi had been a queen long before he was born, her parents having died when she was basically still a pup.

  
Emmitt's sigh was tired, "Power can corrupt even the strongest minds. Shenzi became queen too young and it warped her mind. To her, trying to snatch away Foxhollow is for the good of her kingdom."

  
"Either way, until Jasiri takes the throne Shenzi is a threat," Octavia pointed out softly. "Nicholas, what do you plan to do about this?"

  
"I _plan_ to keep this between Foxhollow and Grinningvale, I _plan_ to resolve this amiably. But I also plan to tear out her throat if she harms me or mine."  
The couple nodded, not at all surprised by his words. "If worse comes to worse..." Emmitt began, "Our loyalty will be with Foxhollow."  
.  
After a day of showing off her swordsmanship to the awed princes and guards Judith curled up in her very own private guest room. Nicholas was sleeping in the room next door.  
With candlelight on her night stand she opened Richard's journal:

_Wanderers have come to Foxhollow._

_I can hear the singing and laughing from my window, Journal. I want to go out and see it, I want to have fun. But my parents tell me I'm too sick I'm always too sick. But Nicholas wants me to go maybe we could sneak out. It'll be so fun, so so much fun!_

Judith turned to the next page. It was blank.

She had read Richard's last journal entry.


	20. Lavender's Blue Dilly Dilly

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Where'd you get this?"

The next morning Nicholas and King Otterton had disappeared into town. She would've went looking for them but Octavia had found her and dragged her off.

  
"I'm always surrounded by my boys, I need to spend time with a fellow lady," was Octavia's explanation once they were in her private chambers.

  
The small otter was in a closet large enough to live in, skimming over dresses. Judith walked over hesitantly, "Majesty, what are you doing?"

  
"Trying to find you a dress."

  
"That's very kind but... I don't think they'll fit."

  
Octavia suddenly held up a dress, the skirts falling across the floor, it was clearly a dress for something as big as a canine.

  
"They don't fit me either." Octavia's sigh was amused. "They were gifts from other Regions after I married Emmitt. Some tried harder than others." She pulled out a dress of deep lavender that shone blue in the sunlight. "You know, if we hem the skirts up...this would be a perfect fit."

  
"Your Majesty," Judith swallowed, "This is very, very kind of you but I'm a commoner. I really shouldn't wear royal clothing."

  
Octavia tilted her head to the side, gazing at the rabbit. "I don't think many would call you a commoner now. Not after what Nicholas said about you."

  
Judith blushed, "What has Nicholas said about me?"

  
Octavia's smile was teasing. "The point is the ward of a king isn't what I'd call the definition of commoner."

  
No... Judith supposed it wasn't...

  
An hour later Judith and Octavia found the princes playing in the dancing hall.  
But when they saw the rabbit their expressions twisted into dismay. "Mama! Why did you put her in a dress?"

  
"She can't fight now!"

  
Judith's ears shot up, she held the skirts of her brand new dress, it was made of silk and incredibly comfortable. She smirked at the two otters, "You think I couldn't whip your tails with this dress on?"

  
They quickly hid behind their mother who laughed jovially. The queen's head turned to look at a piano a few feet away. Oscar broke into a delighted smile, "Mama, will you play the piano?"

  
Judith leaned forward, "You play?"

  
Octavia look embarrassed, "A little, when I was younger."

  
"I'd love to hear it," Judith insisted and the princes nodded in agreement.

  
Octavia walked over and sat before the piano, her son sitting on either side of her while Judith stood a few feet away. Her ears flew up when the queen started to play the rabbit's favorite lullaby. Judith instantly started to sway to the music and didn't hesitate to sing:

_"Lavender's blue, dilly, dilly_

_Lavender's green_

_If I am king dilly, dilly_

_You'll be my queen."_

Oscar and Elijah had turned to grin at her and she returned the smile, holding her dress in her paws and twirling around the room.

_"Who told you so, dilly, dilly_

_Who told you so?_

_'Twas my own heart, dilly, dilly_

_That told me so."_

Having her eyes closed as she danced around the room she let out a startled yelp when she suddenly knocked into someone.

  
"Easy," Nicholas said, grabbing Judith's arms to keep her from falling.

  
The bunny quickly pulled away, "Sorry."

  
Both Nicholas and Emmitt were looking at her dress. "Where did you get that?"

  
"Her Majesty gave it to me as a gift."

  
Octavia walked over with her sons in tow, "Doesn't she look stunning?" The Otterton family shared a group hug. "How was your trip into town?" Octavia asked her husband.

  
"Fruitful," Emmitt smiled, "Though if I had known you would be playing the piano I'd have stayed home."

  
Octavia kissed his cheek, "I suppose I could play one more song for your benefit." The four otters walked back to the piano, leaving Judith and Nicholas at the door.

  
"You know that song then?" the fox asked her.

  
Judith smiled softly, "My mother used to sing it to me before bed."

  
"Mine too."

  
They listened to the queen play for a moment before Judith spoke again, "What did you do in town?"

  
"Just accompanied Emmitt while he checked on the fishing boats. But here-" he placed his paw in his pocket-"I got you a gift."

  
Her eyes widened, "You did?"

  
"We're friends." He said that like it explained everything. He offered his paw to her, on his palm was a necklace. It was shimmering turquoise, shaped as a smooth flat oval and a swirling pattern etched onto the surface.  
"I thought you'd like a Riverway souvenir."

  
Judith took the necklace and placed it over her head, the oval resting on her collarbone. "It's beautiful," she breathed before shyly smiling up at the fox. "Thank you."

  
The fox hummed in a neutral matter as if it didn't really matter if she liked the necklace or not. But his ears were pulled back and his eyes had quickly broken away from hers.

  
.

  
After lunch Judith had once again been stolen away by Oscar and Elijah. They had taken her to their secret layer which was a hidden away cupboard that was almost too small for the three. The two princes leaned against her knees as he sat down to stare at her brand-new necklace.

  
Elijah smiled cheekily, "He bought it cause he _loooves_ you."

  
Judith rolled her eyes, "He's just trying to be a good friend."

  
"By lavishing you with jewelry," Oscar cheeked.

  
"This is the only thing he's ever bought me."

  
"For now."

  
Elijah grabbed Judith's paw and led her out of the cupboard, "Let's go ask him to buy you more things!"

  
"That's silly," Judith insisted, but she let them lead her away.

  
Nicholas and the Ottertons were still in the dinning hall, Judith pulled the princes to a halt before they could slip through the crack of the door.

  
Emmitt was speaking, "Your mother might have a point about you marrying."

  
Nicholas' huff was so loud Judith could hear it in the hall.

  
Octavia's voice was soothing, "It would keep Shenzi from throwing her daughter at you."

  
Nicholas growled, "I'm not letting that hyena pressure me into a loveless marriage."

  
Judith sucked in a sharp breath, making the princes stare at her. But she was too busy trying to understand the rush of relief that nearly sent her to her knees.

Relief caused by the fact that Nicholas didn't plan to marry...

  
.

  
Oscar and Elijah decided that Judith was upset and the bunny returned to her guestroom. After changing back into her original outfit she curled up into a bed and try to rationalize why she had felt relieved that Nicholas didn't want to find a mate.

  
She supposed he's let her go when he found someone... which means she could return to her loving family. Maybe she was worried that his future mate couldn't help him rule his region... no, Nicholas wasn't stupid. He'd find someone compatible.

  
Perhaps she just wanted the king to herself-"No." she buried her face into her pillow, "No, no, no!"

  
.

  
With plans to return to Fox Hollow tomorrow Nicholas walked into Judith's room to tell her to get some sleep only to find her already asleep.

  
He smiled, amused by the rabbit who took up the whole bed with her sprawled out limbs. She had changed out of Octavia dress but still wore his necklace he tried not to be too happy about that.

  
He spotted the dress draped over the chair, he should pack it up for her, otherwise Judith would probably leave it in Riverway.

  
Nicholas crouched to pick up the bag that held the clothes she had brought with her, but when he stood up something fell out of the bag and hit the floor-a journal.

  
.

  
Judith's nose scrunched she came to. Rubbing at her eyes she sat up and let out a startled squeak when she saw Nicholas was in her room.

  
"You scared me," she told his back, he appeared to be holding something. "What are you doing here?"

  
He didn't answer, staying completely still. Judith slipped out of bed and walked toward him. "Your Majesty? What's wrong-" Her voice cut short seeing what he held in his paws.

  
"Where'd you get this?" Nicholas breathed, staring at Richard's journal.

  
"I-" Judith's insides twisted with guilt and fear. "I found it in the library."

  
"So you can read?" Nicholas' voice was neutral, she had no idea what he was thinking.

  
She nodded mutely, "I-I learned how to read when I was young, I just never told you. I'm sor-"

"And out of all the books you could've chosen," Nicholas interrupted, "You chose to read my brother's private thoughts."

  
Judith lowered her head in shame.  
"Did you finish it?"

  
"It-I just finished. You two wanted to go to a Wanderer festival."

  
"You know what happened next?"

  
"What?"

  
She jumped when his paw encased her cheek, lifting her face to meet his gaze. His eyes were wide and the paw that held her cheek was shaking. He was furious.

  
"You tell me," his voice was like cracking ice. "Cause to this day I have no idea."

  
Judith couldn't breathe, her heart was hitting her ribs so hard she thought it would splatter against her bones.

  
"My brother and I snuck into the festival, we had so much fun... Then I turned around and he was gone. Taken, my father suspected, by the Wanderers Bogo guessed, they vanished before we could look." He let out a breath that almost sounded like a hysterical chuckle. "I guess in the end it doesn't matter. Richard was always sick, he wasn't suppose to leave the castle for a reason. The Wanderers probably kidnapped a corpse." He dragged his paw off her cheek, his claws pricking her skin. "And what was my reward for leading my brother to his doom? I stole his crown."

  
Nicholas turned on his heel and headed to the door.

  
Judith's eyes were wet, "Your Majesty-"

  
"Stop talking to me," he didn't look at her.

"I'm sor-"

"I said _stop_ _talking_!" He whirled around to bare his teeth at her. "You snooped through things that didn't concern you. You hid this from me... I trusted you..."

  
Judith's throat constructed and she tried to suck in air.

  
Nicholas turned his back to her. "I didn't need to be reminded I'm not the rightful king."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> https://youtu.be/Ow25lvYoKXo Link to the song Judith sung.


	21. The Laughing Bird

To say the travel back to Foxhollow was tense was an understatement.

  
They were only halfway there, in the middle of a Patch of forestry, and Judith was ready to jump out of the carriage and walk. Nicholas sat across from her, I staring outside and dead quiet. he hadn't said a word since he found the journal and took it away.

  
Judith's insides were twisting and guilt and fear, her fists clutching her skirt. She has been so stupid... why couldn't she have just left the journal alone? Why hadn't she told Nicholas about it?

  
That was the shortest friendship she had ever had.

  
Ceiling back in her seat and closed her eyes, wishing she could slip into sleep to know longer have to stand the tension.

  
.

  
Nicholas noticed in the corner of his eye that Judith had close to rise, perhaps she had fallen asleep.

  
He envied her.

  
Being able to sleep...being able to say the only thing she ever saw was a flimsy journal...being able to look at him not be tortured by pangs of affection or desire.

  
Why was she still wearing his necklace?

  
Nicholas try to take calming breaths, he grew up royal, and royalty were bred to handle stressing situations. Though his tutors warned him of avoiding war and dealing with famines, not how to handle conflicting emotions of a too nosy rabbit whose eyes always sparkled.

  
Nicholas let out a sound of self-disgust, the noise coming out louder than anticipated and startled Judith into opening her eyes. She looked at him for only a second for her eyes dropped away, shame contorting her face.

  
Nicholas nipped his tongue, hating how guilt scratched at his heart, the organ had already been torn to shreds by anger and grief. He had nearly put that day behind him. Sneaking Richard out to the festival to enjoy jesters and sugary food. Nicholas had been so careful, knowing of his brothers illness, making sure Richard didn't run, that they didn't get stuck in crowds. But the Nicholas had paid attention to a juggler for a few minutes too long and then turned around to see his brother was gone.

  
Hours later as the wanderers we're packing up to leave Nicholas realized he couldn't find Richard on his own and ran back to the castle. But by the time his father and the guards joined the search the Wanderers had vanished, and despite Foxhollow being turned upside down no one found hide nor hair of the first prince.

  
Nicholas' main memory was his mother holding him as they cry their eyes out. He lost track of how many times he said sorry, it was all his fault, and it was amazing how empty and useless those words have become. It didn't help when, a few months later, when hope is been lost, he stood before his father who told him that one day he would be king.  
Nicholas was only six years old and have never felt filthier.

  
.

  
Judith was eventually distracted from the awkward silence by the muffled sound of footsteps that was softer than the hoofbeats of the horse pulling the carriage and the heavier steps of the rhino and leopard guards that followed on foot. Her ears lifted up and she crawled to the left of the carriage to look out the window, it unnerved her that the forest was so thick and dark. It could hide anything.

  
Nicholas was looking at her, "What are you doing?"

  
The tension was replaced by a sense of wariness. "I heard something..." Her fur bristled as an orange and black blur shot out of the trees and lunged toward the rhino. She let out a gasp as there was a flash of red and the guard fell to the grass, then the figure vanished from her sight and the sound of it grappling with the leopard could be heard.

  
Nicholas, having saw what she had, reached under his seat to pick up a sheathed sword. But then the carriage jolted forward as the horse started to gallop away.

  
"Stop!" Nicholas called out, his fur bristling. "We're not leaving the guards!"

  
The carriage didn't slow down and Judith wasn't that surprised, the safety of the king outweighed the safety of his guards.  
But Nicholas didn't see it that way.

"Carrots stay here!" he ordered before jumping out of the moving carriage before she could blink. Judith let out a panicked yelp and quickly disobeyed him, jumping out of the carriage and rolling across the ground before skidding to a rough halt.

  
"What are you doing?" Nicholas let out a growl, already on his feet with sword unsheathed.

  
Judith pushed herself to her feet, "I can't leave you like that. You're the king, you need to be protected!"

  
His eyes narrowed into slits, "Not by you."

  
Before Judith could think of a way to respond from the back-handed comment a chuckle, smooth as silk, filled her ears.

  
"I hope I'm not interrupting."

  
Nicholas turned around to see a tiger calmly walking toward, wrapped in black clothing and a cape. Held loosely in his paw was a sword dripping with blood. Venomous green eyes watched them with mild amusement-he reminded Judith of a snake.

  
"But," the tiger's voice ran through Judith's ears like honey. "I do have other things to do today besides killing you."  
Nicholas let out an unimpressed huff and flicked his ears, "Believe it or not I have more important things to do as well. How about we cut this short and you walk away. Which is more than you deserve for killing my guards."

  
The tiger laughed again and despite how smooth the sound was it still made Judith shiver with fear and she glanced around her surroundings to look for a makeshift weapon.

  
"I'm glad you're not scared. That would've been boring." A second after those words were uttered the tiger rushed him, Nicholas just managing to deflect the blow with his own sword.

  
Judith jumped back several paces, watching Nicholas hold his own against the larger mammal. But despite Nicholas' skill he was still smaller and not as strong as the tiger. Sparks flew as the swords scrapped against each other and the fox's arms shook with the force. The tiger must have also realized this as well, because as fast and focused as he appeared his expression betrayed how he didn't consider this an actual fight. At one point a blocked blow had been delivered that made Nicholas nearly drop to his knees, Judith noticed the fox's ankle twist in a painful looking position and his teeth gritted in pain. The tiger noticed as well.

  
Nicholas let out a snarl as he was knocked to the ground, the tiger's foot knocking him onto his back before placing said foot on the fox's chest.

  
"Hmm," the feline's expression was disappointed. "Tragic. Predictable but tragic." He pressed his heel into Nicholas' rib cage. "Royalty are never properly prepared to defend themselves. Look at you, your arms are shaking so badly you can't even lift the sword I do graciously left in your grip."

  
"Stop!" Judith yelled just as the tiger lifted his sword. He went still as his stripped head slowly turned to look at her.

  
He purred when their eyes met, "And you are?"

  
" _Nothing_!" Nicholas hissed, "She's nothing! Just a servant I brought to carry my bags."

  
The tiger ignored him, "What may I call you, dear lady?"

  
"Judith." She tried to sound as forceful as possible, her empty fists shaking at her sides. "Now step away from the king before I make you."

  
His expression morphed into pity, "How precious..."

  
He jumped toward her so fast Judith's heart leapt into her throat. Claws flashed and she hurriedly stepped back to dodge the swipe of his paw before it could strike her-but she wouldn't get to know if she could have evaded the attack.

  
Nicholas blocked it with his body.  
He was knocked into her and the force threw them several feet away from the feline. Judith quickly pulled herself out from under the fox, only to see bleeding gashes across his abdomen. A spark of fear made Judith hold back a wobbling sob, the tiger let out a soft chuckle.

"You were nothing, he said," he mused quietly, examining the blood on his claws.

  
Judith didn't answer, instead she jumped over the fox and rushed to the sword Nicholas had left behind. The tiger/growling when he saw what she was doing-ran after her and moved to pounce. Just as he reach her Judith grabbed the sword and turned around.  
The earsplitting wail caused a lump in Judith's throat, the tiger jumped several steps back, paw over the bleeding socket were his eye had once been. Judith straightened into shaking legs and held the sword at eye level, her arms quivering from holding the heavy weapon.

" _Leave_ ," she snarled.

  
The tiger's remaining eye flashed with pain but also with intrigue, he looked at Judith as if she was a fascinating puzzle. "You know..." his voice was oddly causal considering his lack of two eyes. "A laughing bird whispered into my ear that the king was causing problems and I should fix it." He glanced at Nicholas, bleeding and unconscious, "Which I did. But I was told nothing of you." He bared his teeth in a chilling smile, "Which is a crime in of itself. You're far more interesting." He turned around with a swish of his cape, "I can't exactly fight you now, but I hope, dear Judith, that we'll meet again when we're both well-equipped."

  
The tiger vanished into the tree line and Judith waited a few short seconds before dropping her sword and rushing back to the fox. " _Nicholas_!"

  
Panicked and with tears rising she pressed her self against the claw marks to stop the bleeding, the blood hot and sticky and making her skin crawl. "Please hold on," she begged to the fox that was out cold. "I'll get you home, I beg you please hold on!" She looked around the empty forest, eyes blurry as his tears fell. She was alone without the strength to carry Nicholas anywhere. Besides she had to hold her paws and torso against his wounds otherwise he'd bleed to death.

  
"I'm sorry," she buried her face into his neck, desperate to find his pulse. "I'm so, so sorry. Please be okay-I can't... I don't want to lose you."

  
She didn't know how long they were in the forest, her crying into his fur and keeping him from bleeding out. Her hope had dwindled into flickering embers when she heard the sound of hoofbeats growing louder and louder.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And with that I have finished the chapters I was morally obligated to write.


	22. The Mouse in the Snake Pit

 Jasiri barely had her mother around during her puphood. She was given to a honey badger who nursed and raised her while her mother went back to ruling over Grinningvale. And Jasiri could never decide if being raised by her nursemaid had been for the best.

On the one paw, Jasiri had a greater sense of compassion and empathy then her mother ever had, she had a loyalty from her citizens that Shenzi would never have.

But Jasiri also had no clue if she would be a good queen, as Shenzi liked to point out over, and over, and over. She constantly complained over her daughter's bleeding heart being a weakness that the other Regions would exploit. And when Jasiri commented that her mother didn't _need_ Foxhollow she had been rewarded with a blow that left her ear ringing. So Jasiri stayed quiet and let her mother do as she wished, all the while wishing she was brave enough to overthrow her and at the same time figure out plans to keep her Region together at the chance that maybe, just maybe, someone would have the courage to do what she couldn't.

Jasiri had returned to the castle one cold evening after visiting town to ease whatever worries she could amongst the citizens. But upon arrival one of the servants told her her mother was entertaining an ominous stranger in the court room. Only imagining what her mother was up to this time Jasiri made her way to the court room, glad when she the doors had been left open just a crack, enough to peek inside. Her mother stood in the middle of the large room, her dark blue dress a drop of murky water amongst the gold of the room. Standing before her was a tiger Jasiri had never seen before, he was clad in dark clothes and had bloody bandages wrapping around his left eye, his right eye glowing with green venom. Jasiri's ears fell back against her head, the stranger making her uneasy.

And Shenzi's words made Jasiri's blood run cold: "Is he dead?"

"Can't say," the tiger replied, "I got a good swipe in, but if he got to help quick enough..."

His words made Shenzi bare her teeth, "You _can't say_?"

"In case you didn't notice I now have one less eye and not only did you not pay me enough to cover that type of injury but you also didn't warn me about the rabbit."

"Rabbit?" Shenzi echoed, "You mean that scrawny little piece of fluff that tried to run off?"

Jasiri knew her, Judith, Nicholas had spoken of her at the party they both attended. He had only say a few short words but his eyes had been so fond that it nearly broke the hyena's heart. Her thoughts were interrupted by her mother's raspy laughter.

"You lost your eye to a _bunny_?"

The tiger didn't look irritated or shamed at the fact, "Shenzi, if you didn't just mammals by things like their species you would've taken over Foxhollow by now."

His words silenced her, her eyes narrowing, "Quiet, Phoenix. I gave you one job and, despite being the top assassin for miles around, you still couldn't do it."

"Why even kill King Nicholas?" Phoenix asked. "I thought you wanted to chain him to your daughter."

"That would be the ideal option," Shenzi replied, "But have you seen my daughter? Unless I can have her clean up her act there's no way she could seduce Wilde."

Even though that was the last thing Jasiri wanted it still stung to hear her mother say that she couldn't entice a male's interest. Her blunt claws dug into the wood of the door as Phoenix continued:

"I can try to sneak into the Foxhollow castle to finish the job but that will definitely cost extra. Especially if that bunny is there, she'll put up a good fight I'm sure."

The way he said the word 'bunny' he sounded sincerely interested in her, that he did want to meet her again and fight, though there was no malice in his voice, as if he didn't care to avenge his lost eye. Still Jasiri felt a sense of worry for the rabbit she never met and the fox she barely talked to. Her mother had sent an assassain to kill a decent monarch, one that treated his Region better than herself, all out of greed. She was crazy.

Shenzi's ear suddenly twitched and she suddenly met her daughter's gaze through the cracks. "Jasiri."

The princess gulped before opening the door and walking inside, head lowered in submission as she held her shaking paws together and stopped before the queen and assassin. She glanced at the tiger and was unnerved by his friendly expression, wearing a smile even though she could see the dry blood on his claws.

"Why were you eavesdropping?" Shenzi asked, her voice low and dripping with threat.

"I wasn't," Jasiri lied. "I just came back..."

Shenzi snorted and looked back at the tiger, "Phoenix, this is my daughter."

The tiger bowed low and took her paw in his, she desperately tried not to shudder as his blood-stained claws brushed her fur. She kissed her knuckles and Jasiri longed to run away and bathe, getting any sense of this snake in a tiger's body off her. "The pleasure is all mine, my lady," he purred before pulling away. Jasiri was mindful not to rub her paw against her dress.

"Your mother has told me many things about you," he added. Jasiri could only imagine what those things were.

"I want you to pack for a trip to Foxhollow," Shenzi told her daughter.

Jasiri swallowed, "Foxhollow?" Did she actually plan on having Phoenix slip into the castle to murder Nicholas?

Shenzi rolled her eyes, "Don't you remember girl? 'King Nicholas' invited us to search through Nectar forest for our 'lost artifact."

"But there is no lost artifact," Jasiri pointed out.

"Of course there's not," Shenzi snapped. "Do you never listen to your mother?"

"What do you plan to do? Walk aimlessly through the forest for a few hours then leave?" Would Nicholas even be able to accompany her?

"No, no," Shenzi said, like flipping a coin her irritation turning into glee. "Not just that, we're going to pay a visit to our beloved Foxhollow allies too as well."

Jasiri stiffened, Shenzi was going to spy on Nicholas, see if he was dead. But what if he wasn't...? Shenzi's mental thread had become so thin, it could snap while it was there.

She could arrive at Foxhollow and try to rip the king's throat out.

.

"Honey! _Honey_!"

The nursemaid looked up from her book to see Jasiri running toward her, the pup's dress wrinkled and covered in dirt as she sobbed.

"What happened?" Honey asked as Jasiri buried her nose into Honey's round belly. "Why are you in such a state?" Honey wondered if she could get the princess cleaned up before Shenzi returned from the meeting, her mother didn't like her daughter looking less than regal.

"Kion tripped me!" Jasiri sobbed into her nursemaid's dress. "He's so mean!"

Honey chuckled, "You didn't kick his tail?"

Jasiri looked up, round eyes wet with tears, "I can do that?"

The badger laughed again, "Anyone who mistreats you deserves your wrath, my little queen."

Jasiri sniffed and rubbed her nose, "I'm not a queen, and mama would get mad at me if I beat him up."

Honey caressed the top of Jasiri's head, "You let me deal with your mama." She pulled the pup into her lap, the two sitting in a patch of shade in the Kingsland garden. "Why do you play with Kion if he treats you so badly."

"Cause no one else will play with him," Jasiri replied in a matter of fact tone, her chin resting on Honey's belly. "Mammals don't like him so I play with him so when we're older he'll own me a favor."

"What kind of favor?" Honey asked, lovingly rubbing Jasiri's back.

She shrugged her tiny shoulders, "I don't know. Maybe I'll make him marry me or be my servant. We'll see."

"We'll see," Honey smiled.

The two dwindled into a pleasant silence, Jasiri curling into her belly and reminding the badger of her own child that didn't survive his first night. She had been devastated, still was, but Jasiri had been born the same night and, for some strange reason, Shenzi wanted to return to her duties as a queen and couldn't care to even nurse her newborn. Instead Jasiri was given to Honey who needed the baby as much as the baby needed her. And as far as Honey was concerned Jasiri was _her_ child, no matter what her _queen_ said.

She just didn't believe Shenzi would ever consider her a threat.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know this is a short chapter I'm sorry the next chapter shouldn't be too long coming.


	23. Bedridden

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> She fluttered her eyes shut but knew she wouldn't get any sleep soon with anxiety hovering over her like a cloud, ready to swallow her whole if she let her guard down.

"Is he going to survive?"

"I've done all I can...now we can only wait and see."

Manchas stood before his former king and queen with a somber expression. Maximus and Amelia were both calm, but he saw the pain and utter terror behind their eyes. They had already lost one child they didn't deserve to lose another. They stood before the closed door of Nicholas's bedchambers, the fox, his torso wrapped thickly with bandages and his fur strong with the scent of poultice.

"Should..." Amelia swallowed. "Should one of us stay with him?"

"I'm afraid that job has already been taken," Manchas replied. "Judith hasn't left his side since we brought him to the castle. I can try to make her leave but I highly doubt she would listen."

"No, no it's fine," Maximus replied, his voice soft. "I trust her to watch him. There's things I need to do in my son's stead."

"What are you going to do?" Amelia asked, watching her husband walk away.

"Send a letter to Shenzi to see if we can hold that artifact hunt to after Nicholas is back on his feet."

.

Judith was curled into Nicholas's side, her ear close to his heart to make sure she caught every heart beat, felt every rise and fall of his chest. At least he wasn't cold, his body felt like a furnace. Judith forced her head up to look at the bandages wrapped around his bare chest, they were red with blood and it made her feel sick, but it didn't look like he was bleeding as profusely as earlier, and Manchas had stitched the wounds up. He had a chance.

"Your Majesty," she breathed. "Can you hear me?"

She knew he had to rest but Judith desperately wanted him to open his eyes.

"Your parents are worried about you," she told him. "Terrified, I'm sure. Bogo and Finnick nearly had heart attacks when they found us, Finnick wanted to go hunt down that tiger. Someone might have had to lock him into a guest room to keep him in one place I'm sure. I'm staying right here." She dwindled off into silence for a few moments, hearing his breath, feeling his heart slowly beat against her ear. "I'll stay here...until you wake up. I'll leave, if you like. I-I am sorry about what happened, about your brother's journal. I didn't want to hurt you. I've lost family before, I know what it feels like and I doubt I would've reacted any better if someone had taken my brother's journal. But...I did love learning about you, about you and Richard. Your little adventures and teaching. You reminded me of me when I was a child, I always wanted to go on adventures, drag my siblings out of the house and out to play... I stopped being like that a long time ago. I say...after my first run in with Gideon Grey, after that I became who I was when we first met and I...I think I hated myself..."

She forced her lips closed, that was enough talking about herself, Nicholas was unconscious he couldn't hear her. She curled herself closer to him, burying her nose into his fur that smelled of the poultice Manchas had put over his wounds. She fluttered her eyes shut but knew she wouldn't get any sleep soon with anxiety hovering over her like a cloud, ready to swallow her whole if she let her guard down.

.

One moment Nicholas was bleeding and blacking out in the forest, and then he came to in his bed chamber, his chest aching and wrapped in bandages. He blinked his eyes for a  few seconds to clear his vision and then reached his paw up, the limb shaking, as he ran his fingers over the bandages. Then he noticed the ball of fur curled into his rib.

"Judith..." his voice sounded awful, raspy and weak. He was so thirsty.

He thought she was asleep but the rabbit shot up into a sitting position immediately, ears up and eyes wide, "Ni-Your Majesty!"

"Water," he mumbled. She leapt off the bed and ran to the pitcher of water that was on his desk, along with a small plate of food. She poured a cup and quickly hurried to him.

"Can you stand up?" Judith asked.

Nicholas shook his head, he really didn't want to try, his whole body felt like it was being held together by the thinnest of threads. Judith carefully climbed onto the bed and slipped her paw under his head, very carefully lifting his head just enough for him to take tentative sips from the water glass.

"What happened?" he asked when Judith placed the cup down on the bedside table.

"You don't remember the tiger?"

"Oh I remember _him_ ," Nicholas growled, resting his head back on his pillows. "I mean what happened after I blacked out?"

"We weren't that far from the nearest Foxhollow town," she explained. "The carriage driver brought help and carried you back to the castle."

Nicholas looked at the bandages, "How much blood did I lose?"

"I'm not sure," she replied. "How are you feeling?"

"Awful," he answered honestly. "You?"

"I'm okay," she reassured. "You saved me."

 "Of course I did," he said. He then noticed how wet her eyes looked, "Were you crying?"

"I was scared," Judith replied, trying to dry her eyes. "That...there was a lot of blood." She took in a shuddering breath, "And I still didn't apologize for taking Richard's journal."

Nicholas felt a twinge of disappointment that he tried to ignore, "That's all you were worried about?"

Judith suddenly leaned forward, their noses inches about and her expression one of dismay, "No, no! That's not it! I was _scared_ , Nicholas! I didn't want you to die!"

There was silence between them, eyes locked and breath soft. Nicholas took in how her eyes shone with unshed tears, and the very real grief in her voice twisted his heart and he wanted to assure her that he wasn't going anywhere, and that he wasn't mad at her. And maybe if Nicholas hadn't nearly died he wouldn't left those thoughts as wishful thinking, but that tiger had reminded him that life was far too short.

Judith flinched in surprise when Nicholas's paw was placed on her hip, she looked at his paw before back to him, confusion furrowing her brow but she didn't move away.

"I'm sorry I scared you," he breathed. "And I'm not mad at you, about the journal."

"You aren't?"

"Well, I _was_. But losing my two guards and nearly losing you...it put things in perspective." His heart stopped for just a moment when Judith nuzzled into his neck.

"I'm sorry for your guards," she breathed into his fur, "Then were brought back and taken to their families."

"I'll hold a service for them," Nicholas replied, wrapping his arm around her.

He was starting to feel drowsy again, his eyelids slowly closing. Judith noticed and moved to sat up but Nicholas tightened his grip around her waist, "Will you stay with me?"

Judith blinked, then nodded, "Of course I will."

Nicholas closed his eyes and drifted to sleep, Judith once again curling into his side and adding much needed warmth and companionship.

 


	24. The Liar's Treasure

"You kicked him in the face?"

Nicholas and Judith sat on his bed, the fox still wrapped in blankets curtesy of the bunny as they passed the time with several different conversations. One of them was how Judith was like when she was little. The fox had been both surprised and amused when she told him she had been a little spitfire.

"I did," Judith said, lifting her chin. "I was very protective of, everyone when I was that young. And wasn't scared to fight..."

"What did Gideon do then?"

Judith swallowed and ran her paw over her cheek, "He scratched me."

"Oh."

"It-it was a swallow wound but...there was a lot of blood. It terrified me, and after that, I wasn't the fearless little girl I claimed to be. And it definteily didn't help that Gideon grew up to steal our food and treated us as he wished."

She flinched in surprise when Nicholas suddenly leaned forward and gently ran his paw over Judith's scratched cheek, soft and gentle. "He can't hurt you anymore," Nicholas replied, his voice low and protective.

Judith placed her palm over his knuckles and let herself lean into his paw, he was warm and steady and it felt her with a wonderful sense of relief. He still had bandages wrapped tightly around his torso that had to be changed constantly and he still didn't have the strength to walk on his won, but he was alive and recovering and that's what's all that mattered...

She moved away from his paw and smiled softly, "I'm starting to see my old self when I look into the mirror. With the sword fighting and befriending predators, I'm not full of self-loathing anymore."

"No one should loathe themselves," Nicholas replied. "Especially not someone like you, not someone who can be so kind and loyal and brave."

His words made Judith's ears turn pink, "You should practice what you preach."

Nicholas blinked, his ears twitching with confusion. "What do you mean?"

She shook her head, "Nothing, forget I said anything."

"No, what do you mean?"

Judith released a breath and looked at the fox, her words might lose the friendliness they currently shared but it was something he needed to hear. "Don't loathe yourself for becoming a king. You're a good king."

The tense silence made Judith's fur bristle but then Nicholas spoke, his voice cracked and soft, "Thank you. I'm trying."

Her head shot up to look at him but his eyes had turned to his bandages. Judith reached out and placed her paw over his, leaning her head forward so their eyes met.

She smiled.

Then there was a knock on a door, followed by the voice of Amelia: "Nicholas, Shenzi has arrived."

.

The castle of Foxhollow had a more quaintness to it than the castle of Grinningvale. But also a deeper sense of history. Walking through the stone halls Jasiri studied the many tapestries, many woven tales of the former monarchs of the Region. She admired it and wondered if she could do something similar at Grinningvale, she thought the servants would appreciate seeing the rich history of the family they served.

Jasiri's brown eyes moved to her mother's back who was walking ahead of her, accompanied by their guards. Though perhaps she would need more than fun historical facts to keep the royal servants from dreading the morning.

The Foxhollow Captain of the guard led them into the courtyard, like the hallway it was made of stone, covered in tapestries, and in the middle of the room stood the former king and queen. And neither looked pleased to see them.

"Shenzi," Maximus said, his voice and posture stiff.

"Hello, Maximus, Amelia," Shenzi bared her teeth. "Do either of you remember my dear daughter?" She swept her arm and indicated to Jasiri who quickly curtsied to the two foxes.

"Yes, hello, Princess Jasiri," Amelia replied.

"Hello, Your Majesty," Jasiri said softly, keeping her distance from both the foxes and her mother. Her eyes searched around the room, panic started to rise when she didn't see any sign of Nicholas.

Shenzi noticed as well and her voice did an awful attempt to hide her pleasure, "Where would that handsome son of yours be? I hope everything's-"

"Good afternoon, Shenzi."

Both hyenas whirled around to see Nicholas walk into the courtroom, looking regal with a hint of barely contained fury. Behind him stood the rabbit known as Judith, her expression unreadable as she stood directly in the fox's shadow. Jasiri couldn't see any sense of relief when hideous rage seethed from her mother though Shenzi's 'smile' had returned.

"Nicholas, so good to see you."

"The feeling is mutal, Shenzi. Though I must say I thought you would have arrived much sooner."

Shenzi waved her paw, "A few issues to handle in Grinningvale. But I brought Jasiri to see you."

 _Mother stop this_ , Jasiri screamed in her mind as she and Nicholas shared a quick greeting. She could feel Judith's gaze on her and locked eyes with the rabbit, surprised to see a kind of resourcefulness in the violet depths. A plan started to form in Jasiri's brain...

.

Nectar Forest was one of the largest forests in the Foxhollow Region, and the reason Shenzi was so focused on it was because it was directly neighboring one of the largest cities in Foxhollow, and as the carriage carrying her and Judith followed the one holding her mother, Nicholas, and Amelia, Jasiri suddenly realized what Shenzi was doing, lying about this sacred artifact. She wanted to know the layout of both the city and forest, the city that just happened to have the dame that controlled so much water throughout the Region, and the forest that could hide thousands of mammals.

Shenzi really was going to invade Foxhollow.

"What's wrong?" Judith asked, sitting across from Jasiri and seeing the sudden look of horror that befell her expression.

"My mother is insane," she breathed then immediately slapped her paws over her mouth, too late to take back the words.

The rabbit's eyes had gone wide and she stared at Jasiri with a look of utter shock. "I-I beg your pardon?"

Jasiri swallowed, one half of her brain telling her to tell Judith what she had just found out, the other half that had been beaten into submission ordered her to stay quiet for her mother. It urged her to stay loyal to a monarch who didn't deserve a shred of it.

"Nothing," she finally murmured, "Just...talking to myself."

Judith's brow had knitted in confusion and she looked to be studying the hyena before her, "If I can say...Your Highness, you're not what I expected."

Jasiri snorted in laughter, "You expected me to be more like my mother, didn't you?"

"No, I just...I just didn't think you'd remind me of myself." When Jasiri stayed silent the rabbit suspected she had been insulted, "I didn't mean to offend you or anything!"

"No, no, I'm not offended," Jasiri replied. "But...King Nicholas told me about you."

"He-he did?"

"Yes and, the things he said...they don't sound anything like me. He made you sound so fearless, I'm nothing like that."

Judith quickly shook her head, looking incredibly flustered, "He's exaggerated, I get scared all the time. But lately, lately I've been better at facing that fear. And if I can do it, Your Highness, anyone can."

It was Jasiri's turn to stare at this ward, this prey, this peasant, who stood next to the king as if she belonged there, held her head up high as if she was a monarch, fought an assassin to protect a fox who she knew was someone worth protecting. She was everything Jasiri wanted herself to be.

.

Nicholas, Shenzi, and Amelia stood in a clearing while the group of soldiers from both Grinningvale and Foxhollow searched through the trees.

Judith and Jasiri stood a few feet away, watching them talk.

"It is a type of goblet," Shenzi explained to Nicholas, "Carved of the most precious of jewels."

Nicholas's expression was unimpressed and Jasiri could still see fire smoldering in his green eyes, "Forgive me, but what's to say a passing mammal hadn't already found it ages ago?"

"We'll just have to keep looking," Shenzi smiled sweetly and the fox narrowed his eyes. Jasiri glanced at Amelia to see the former queen was keeping herself carefully poised. "Unless you're feeling tired Nicholas. May I say you look a little green around the gills?"

"I feel right as rain," Nicholas said between closed teeth.

Next to her Jasiri glanced at Judith, her eyes and ears focused solely on Nicholas, as if she was waiting for something. _Perhaps he didn't fully recover from Phoenix's attack_. "Mother, should I help them look for the artifact?"

Shenzi's eyes narrowed, "Don't be ridiculous, Jasiri. You're royalty, this is a job for the soldiers."

"As-as a princess I shouldn't be scared to get my paws dirty in the name of my citizens and ancestors," she tried, shaking under her mother's gaze.

"I can go as well," Judith spoke up, "I have experience with sword fight, I can serve as her bodyguard."

"They're both young and full of energy," Amelia pointed out to Shenzi, "Let your daughter entertain herself."

Jasiri counted her lucky stars when Shenzi nodded and the hyena and rabbit walked away from the three and into the deep woods of the Nectar Forest. Jasiri kept her ears perked as they walked deeper and deeper into the forest, listening for the sound of the searching soldiers. She stopped in her tracks when the forest was finally silent and Judith stopped next to her. Jasiri turned to the bunny who looked incredibly suspicious now. She took a few steps away from the hyena, her paw hovering near the rapier she had brought with her.

Jasiri took in a deep breath, took in the silence of the forest, reminded herself that the only one to hear her next words was this rabbit who was braver and better than her in every way. "Phoenix."

Judith's eyes narrowed, "What?"

"The name of the tiger that nearly killed King Nicholas, his name is Phoenix."

Judith's arms fell limply to her side and she took several steps backward, face contorted into shock, "The laughing bird...it was your mother. I knew it."

"I had nothing to do with this!" Jasiri quickly added. "I swear, I know you have no reason to believe me! But I want nothing to do with my mother!" Jasiri was starting to shake and she couldn't stop it. Years of wanting to express how awful her mother was had finally come and she knew she couldn't stop, but her brain was screaming at her that she was a traitor, her mother would find out. She'd be killed.

Jasiri fell to her knees and buried her face into her paws, "There is no artifact, she send her soldiers out to find places for armies to hide and camp. She wants to invade, but she also wants to kill Nicholas, and yet she still wants me to marry into the Foxhollow crown. She's crazy, she's absolutely insane, she's going to destroy Grinningvale she needs to be stopped! But I'm not you or King Nicholas or any of my ancestors, I'm not strong enough, I can't stop her-"

Jasiri's sobbing words stopped when arms wrapped around her neck and she realized Judith was hugging her.

"Please calm down," the rabbit's voice was low. "I don't want any one to hear us." She dropped to her knees and held Jasiri's head to make sure their gazes didn't break away. "I understand. Your mother is all the things you say you are, but she's also your mother it's natural to feel a sense of loyalty to her. Still, telling me the truth was incredibly brave of you...I'll tell Nicholas, I'll make sure Shenzi doesn't find out you told me. I'll stop it, the Grinningvale throne truly belongs to you."

Jasiri shook her head, wiping her tears away. "No, Judith. If I was meant to be queen, I would've done the hard thing and killed my mother years ago."

.

It took longer than Jasiri liked to admit to calm herself down, for the tears and shaking to stop and the entire time Judith had been patient though Jasiri knew she had been desperate to return to her king. Dusk was falling upon them as they made their way back, this time Judith holding Jasiri's wrist, rubbing her thumb over the hyena's pulse in an effort to calm her.

"Do you want to stay at the castle?" Judith asked. "Or maybe somewhere else in Foxhollow, a place where you can stay hidden and safe?"

"No," Jasiri replied, the breath she took in shaking. "I'm all the Grinningvale mammals have. They would be terrified in only my mother returned and they've suffered enough." They were silent for the rest of the walk until just before they reached the clearing where the others waited, in which Jasiri turned her to look at Judith, "I wish I was brave like you."

Judith looked Jasiri straight in the eye with a completely serious expression, "I think you're brave already."

Jasiri swallowed and nodded, reluctantly pulling away from the rabbit's grip and stepping out into the courtyard. And immediately the sense of impending dread filled her being. Her eyes found her mother, smiling at Nicholas, but she recognized that look in her mother's eyes. Before her stood Nicholas, Amelia at his shoulder.

"There's nothing here, Shenzi," Amelia growled softly.

"It's a large forest, Amelia dear, we can't expect to explore it all in one day," Shenzi replied, "Nicholas, you understand that, don't you?"

The fox was silent, staring at Shenzi, face unreadable but eyes shining with a million thoughts, he was coming to a decision, Nicholas blinked and his eyes were still, focused, resolved. "Who do you think you are?"

Jasiri's heart dropped, Judith bristled beside her, Shenzi's smile grew. "I'm afraid I don't understand your question."

Nicholas's laugh was a bark, "Shenzi, you might think I'm an ignorant pup who you can manipulate but you're wrong. I know what you're doing, I know exactly what you're doing. You're trying to plan out an invasion, you think I'd be that easy to dethrone, well I'm not." He straightened and Jasiri thought she saw a dark spot seep through his shirt. "This is my Region, Shenzi, not yours. Enough of your pathetic games of pretending to be ally, you are insane. And if you want to fight me I suggest you bring back a very formidable army, it'll be all the more satisfying when I plunge a sword through your heartless chest."

Through a mixture of speed and knowing her mother Jasiri reached Shenzi just in time to stop her from lunging at Nicholas with bare fangs. "Mother, _stop_ ," she breathed, pushing her back by her shoulders. "We're outnumbered let's go home." She looked over her mother's shoulder to address their soldiers that stood in a group looking conflicted. "We're going home." They wasted no time in obeying her order with relief clear on their faces. Jasiri held her mother in a firm grip as she led the practically foaming Shenzi away.

"Jasiri-" Judith called and the young hyena quickly shook her head. Judith fell silent.

Shenzi was muttering to herself as they walked away, Jasiri aware of the Foxhollow soldiers that followed them at a distance, making sure they really did leave. "Does he think he can talk to me like that," Shenzi hissed as they walked, her eyes darting in every direction and not focusing on anything, "No one talks to me like that. I'll show him, I'll rip his throat out right before his eyes. He wants to fight? He's not getting one, he's getting a _war_."

 

 

 


	25. Assumptions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "You-you need to go get ready, you have to look presentable if Lionheart is to take you seriously."

Returning to the castle no one was particularly surprised that Nicholas had basically declared war on Grinningvale. Though Maximus, Bogo, and a few others were annoyed he did so without consulting them. And Judith knew that, despite being the king, both of his parents would give him a stern speech after his wounds had healed, to Amelia and Maximus he was their kit first and king second. And at the moment neither could be irritated with him as Manchas redid the stitches on his torso, he had moved far too much while out of bed and bled some more. Manchas ordered him to stay still until he said otherwise.

"I might have to lord my power over you, Manchas," Nicholas replied, leaning back against his pillows with Judith sitting by his side. "I have an army to lead in the near future."

"You should have thought of that before," Maximus stood in the doorway of his son's bedchambers. "If you had just told her you were ill and stayed here none of this would have happened."

"I was done playing like I didn't know what she has been trying to do since the moment I took the crown," Nicholas growled lowly, his eyes up at the ceiling. "And I didn't want her to see how weak I am."

Judith quickly spoke up. "Shenzi sent that assassain after His Majesty," she told his parents. Jasiri told me."

Nicholas pulled his lips up but the smile was dreadfully grim, "If anyone hates Shenzi as much as we do it's her own daughter."

"Maybe we can convince her to help us?" Judith offered hopefully. "Maybe as a spy or a-"

Amelia cut in, her voice gentle but firm, "I would not get my hopes up, my dear. Jasiri is a breath of fresh air compared to her mother but..."

"We can't rely on her to fight a war, especially against Shenzi," Maximus put it bluntly. "I'm honestly surprised she told you what she did."

Judith's ears drooped, it appeared Jasiri wasn't the only one who found her a coward. But she was reluctant to cast the hyena aside like that...Judith hadn't been lying when she said Jasiri reminded her of herself. And Judith had changed drastically...

"But we do need to collect allies," Nicholas said, having been quiet for a few moments. "Riverway has already assured me they will come to our aid if need be. Not the hardest thing to decide, especially when Shenzi would no doubt go for them next if she defeated us."

"I will send a letter to Otterton," Maximus assured, turning on his heel. "Stay in bed, son." And with that final order he left.

"Would King Lionheart offer his aid?" Judith asked.

Nicholas and Amelia shared an estranged look, as if the lion was a child who only ever brought trouble upon himself and others. They seemed to have a silent conversation for a few seconds before the former queen's shoulders sank in resignation. "Better he is with us then against us. But best I see him in person, the cat never checks his mail."

Judith leaned forward, "May I come with you?"

"You want to go to Kingsland?" Nicholas asked, looking strangely put out.

But she nodded, "Yes, I've never been to Kingsland. And I can't sit still with all these preparations."

" _I_ have to sit still," he pointed out.

"Because you are severely wounded," Amelia replied. "Judith may keep me company if she'd like. It would put me more at ease."

Nicholas actually sulked and waved his paw, "Do as you wish."

Amelia rolled her eyes, "We'll leave in the morning, Judith. Good night, Nicholas."

When the two were left alone Judith looked at the fox who had closed his eyes but was clearly not asleep. "Why are you upset?"

"I'm not."

Judith frowned, was she imagining it? Or was the king of Foxhollow pouting? She stared at him silently for a few moments until he finally released a breath and looked at her. "You'll be careful won't you?"

Her frown softened and she nodded, "Of course I will be."

"Shenzi might already be there..."

"I know."

"If she is stay away from her."

"I will."

"Then come right back."

Judith blinked, slightly taken aback. "Are-are you worried for me?"

His brow furrowed in confusion, "Yes, I am."

The three words made her ears warm. "Th-thank you."

"Go, y-you need to go get ready, you have to look presentable if Lionheart is to take you seriously," Nicholas dismissed her.

Judith slid off the bed, but before she walked out of the room she turned band grabbed his paw. "I'm glad you're worried for me," she smiled. "I promise, I'll be back soon."

Nicholas didn't respond or looked at her, but his paw squeezed hers tightly before finally, and reluctantly, letting go.

.

Jasiri told the guards to keep a close eye on Shenzi, told the advisor to keep her from doing anything drastic.

"Where are you going?" Shenzi had snarled, wrapped thickly in blankets and still quaking with subdued rage. 

"To Kingsland, Mother," Jasiri answered quietly.

"Good. Get that fool Lionheart to help us fight Foxhollow."

"Yes, Mother."

But Jasiri had no intention of talking to the lion, she knew what kind of animal he was. He wouldn't help them. Besides Jasiri wasn't going to the capitol where Lionheart lived, she was going to the outskirts. There the land was endless moors, decorated with patches of brushel and herbs, occasionally painted by a creek.

And in those moors was a small cottage, Jasiri walked toward the cylinder shaped home just as a large black and white shape walked out of the door.

"Honey!" she cried out before racing to her old nursemaid.

The honey badger welcomed her with open arms, "Jasiri, sweetheart. What a surprise. What's wrong?"

Jasiri explained all that had occurred over a cup of herbal tea. When she was done Honey, across from her, released a tired sigh and pinched the bridge of her nose. "I'm not surprised," she finally said. "It was only a matter of time until Shenzi declared war on something. But you did the right thing telling the rabbit the truth."

Shenzi tightened the grip on her cup, "I wanted to ask what you thought..."

"I think you need to keep yourself safe," Honey answered. "The Foxhollow king is capable of winning this fight. You need to stay well for the sake of your people."

Jasiri swallowed, "They...all of you deserved better than me."

"Dearest..." Honey reached out and took the hyena's paw. "You keep your soldiers safe from your mother's more crazy orders, you kept them from needlessly throwing away their lives. When Shenzi is in a rage you keep yourself in front of the servants so she will take her anger out on you rather than them. And you go out of your way to travel around Grinningvale to know who your citizens are. You will be a fine queen."

Jasiri pressed her ears against her head, "I couldn't protect you."

Honey's gaze hardened, "Do not blame yourself for that. I've never been more proud than the day you took my side over your mother's."

"You were banned from Grinningvale."

"And the only bad thing is that I can't be there for you when you need me." She leaned back in her chair, "I love this cottage. It's cozy."

Jasiri took another sip of her tea, "Aren't you lonely?" 

"I was," Honey smiled softly, "But I went to town and met one of my old patients, we started talking and now I have an apprentice."

"That's wonderful, Honey. Where are they?"

The woods barely passed her tongue when there was knocking on Honey's door. "That's him there. Get in here, we have a guest."

The door opened and in walked a handsome fox some years older than her, carrying a basket of herbs. "Who is-Oh, Princess Jasiri! It's an honor."

The hyena didn't reply, her eyes wide and she had nearly dropped her cup. Despite his darker fur and sapphire eyes...this fox held a disturbing resemblance to King Nicholas. 


	26. Like A Queen

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> All eyes in the room turned to Judith who was positively fuming, her violet eyes burning into the lion.

The capitol city of Kingsland was a bustling metropolis and Judith knew, if given the time, it would take her days to explore it all. She sat in a slow-moving carriage with Amelia, making their cautious way through the crowded street market. Judith watched the hundreds of mammals outside, shopping, selling, talking, walking, and she was glad she was safely in the carriage. She could've easily gotten trampled in such a crowd.

Judith cleared her throat. "I've never met King Lionheart. Do you think he'll help?"

Amelia blew air through her nostrils, ruffling the snow white fur of her chest. "Leodore is usually...unpredictable. I honestly can't say if he'll help or not."

Judith wrung her paws, leaning back into her seat, "What should I do?"

"Hopefully you won't have to do anything," Amelia smiled softly, "But perhaps you could show him that pluckiness of yours? It had a positive effect on my son."

And Nicholas had hardly been the easiest audience to please. Maybe things would go smoother with Lionheart.

.

Judith was wrong.

Leodore barely passed her a glance when they arrived, giving all his attention to Amelia and inviting her to lunch. Judith stood with the servants while Amelia told Leodore about Shenzi's thirst for war.

The lion chuckled nervously, running his claws through his mane, "Despite her age Shenzi's still a spit-fire. Kinda have to admire that."

Amelia's brow furrowed and Judith felt a ball of dread form in her stomach. "No, I will not admire that," Amelia replied coldly. "She's trying to take over Foxhollow out of nothing but greed."

Leodore shifted in his seat, "Are you positive? She may need the resources."

Amelia's jaw dropped, "Are you joining her in this fight?"

"Oh no, no, no," Leodore quickly assured. "I only...want to know both sides of the story. I don't want my soldiers fighting for an unjust cause."

Amelia's tail bristled under the chair and even Judith squared her shoulders. Unjust? Protecting your Region from a tyrant was an _unjust_ cause? "You've met Shenzi," Amelia's voice was flat. "You know how unhinged she is."

"She can't be _that_ unhinged," Leodore tried. "She runs such an impressive mining business..."

"You must be joking?!"

All eyes in the room turned to Judith who was positively fuming, her violet eyes burning into the lion. She wasn't fazed in the slightest when Leodore narrowed his eyes at her, "Excuse me?"

"Shenzi is ready to attack an entire Region and you won't stand against her because you don't want to lose her one? what happens if she wants Kingsland next?"

"She could never take my Region," the lion growled. "And it's my Region that I'm thinking of." He waved a large, dismissive paw, "I wouldn't expect a peasant to understand."

"I may be a peasant," Judith lifted her chin. "But that doesn't mean I don't understand the consequences of actions. I am all too aware monarchs have to sometimes make difficult choices-choices they rather wish weren't necessary. But those are sacrifices they must make for their people. Ore isn't a worthy excuse to not come to Foxhollow's aid...and it wont' be a worthy excuse if and when Shenzi sets her eyes on Kingsland."

Her words were met with a stunned silence. The servants looked at her as if she was a brand new species of mammals. Leodore still glared at her. Amelia's unreadable expression was on the lion.

"Amelia," Leodore finally spoke. "I think I'll turn in for the night."

"For the best," Amelia's voice was flat as she stood up. "I need to return to my son. Come along, Judith."

The rabbit immediately started to apologize when they left the dinning room.

"I shouldn't have spoken." Now out of Leodore's presence her gut churned with guilt. "I was just-so angry. But I know that's not a good enough reason I-"

"Apologize for nothing." Amelia walked quickly through the castle, fists clenched and claws clicking on the tile. "This would've happened either way, Leodore is a coward. Unless he sees something to gain he won't lift a claw."

The two continued to walk in silence, Judith's relief easing the pressure in her chest. Still, she hoped they could find allies elsewhere. They had just stepped out of the castle when Amelia spoke again, "I forgot who you were."

"Pardon?"

The vixen was smiling, eyes on the approaching gate. "When you spoke to Leodore it was like listening to a queen."

Those words made Judith's eyes bulge and she would've said something-she had no idea what-when her stomach rumbled.

"Let's go eat," Amelia chuckled.

"Shouldn't we get back to Foxhollow?"

"It'll be morning by the time we return. I refuse to not eat until then."

.

They couldn't take the carriage deeper into the town so they walked on foot, heading toward the nearest restaurants. Judith had a childish urge to hold Amelia's paw, desperate to not get separated in the over crowding street. Amelia wore a gray cloak to hide her identity and Judith was careful to keep it in her sight. But her small size was a serious disadvantage, the taller animals blocking her view, nearly stepping on her. And it was only a matter of time until she lost sight of the vixen.

"Amelia!" Judith pushed through the crowd, feeling claustrophobic. "Amelia!" She pushed her way to the brick wall of a random building and kept her body pressed against it as she moved forward. She suddenly recalled the old horror stories her grandfather would tell, of burrows falling in and rabbits crushed together, unable to move as they slowly suffocated to death.

" _Amelia_!" Her voice cut off as there was suddenly space, she had walked into an ally. She sucked in several breathes, calming her nerves.

Judith was ready to move again when suddenly she felt a shadow at her back. Before she could react a foul-smelling rag was pressed against her nose and mouth. She struggled against the larger force, holding her in place. To her horror she felt her consciousness start to slip, her limbs became stiff.  _No, no, no, no_ -her body fell, held up by her attacker. _Nicholas...help...Nicho-_ Everything went black.

.

"I hate large cities," Wolf grumbled as he pushed through the suffocating crowds, groceries in his arms and Gazella as his shadow. The pretty gazelle giggled, her laughter like ringing bells.

"Just a few more days," she assured him. "And then we'll be traveling again, exploring the great wide country sides, sleeping under the stars. I know you like sleeping outside, though I have no idea why. Hard earth always make my back aches, I much prefer beds."

At those words he snorted, "You sleep on top of me whether its outside or in an inn, like I'm your personal pillow."

Gazella wrapped her arm around his and snuggled her head into his shoulders, ignoring the one or two glares the couple got. It had been such a lucky day when she had met Wolf, him, the Foxhollow king, and that brave rabbit helping her find young Colt. Wolf had come along with her to take him back to the other Wanderers and both the prey and predators had instantly taking a like to the canine and offered him a place amongst them. Wolf had agreed, telling Gazella he simply had nothing better to do but he worked so hard for them. He always pitched up tents and started camp fires, did a lot of heavy lifting. He couldn't stand the spot light and didn't prove himself an entertainer but he never missed one of Gazella's shows and they all called him her biggest fan.

She had been surprised and oh, so, so, delighted the first time he kissed her.

And now the Wanderers were in Kingsland, soon to move on to the next Region and they couldn't leave quick enough in Wolf's case. The canine's nose suddenly twitched and he nearly stopped in his tracks, causing the mammals around them to almost crash.

"Wolf, what's wrong?" Gazella asked, catching him from stumbling.

Wolf was moving his head around, snout in the air as his nose twitched, "Nothing, it's just..." He turned his head and led Gazella into an empty ally. "Something's wrong." He placed the groceries on the ground and, to Gazella's surprise, leaned down and nearly touched the ground with his nose, sniffing.

Gazella didn't like the way his body tensed. "Wolf...what's wrong?"

He was quiet for a moment then spoke, his voice soft with suspicion and worry. "Judith."  


	27. Chains and Bars

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "The laughing bird," Judith murmured, her voice hard. "Shenzi."

When Judith's conscience finally returned it came with a price. Her head throbbed painfully and an awful taste stuck to her mouth. She forced her heavy eye lids open, barely noting the stone ceiling above her before she turned on her side and gagged. But, having not eaten the only thing that came up was bile.

The awful taste was still there but she finally stopped dry-heaving and noticed her surroundings. The first thing was that her ankle was entrapped by a chain that was bolted to the floor. The room she was in looked like a bed chamber of a castle and for the fleetest moment hoped she was back in Foxhollow, but no. The bed, a few feet away, the bedspread had the colors of a venomous purple and dull yellow...she knew those colors. There was a tapestry above the cold fireplace, telling the story of a hyena in royal garbs...she was in Grinningvale!

Judith grabbed the chain that held her prisoner and tested its strength, with a frustrated growl and grabbed the piece around her ankle, trying to open it or slip her foot out but with no luck.

"It's not going to work," a sing-song-y and awfully familiar voice reached her ears and Judith whipped around to see someone walking into the chamber, posture relaxed and with the pace like he had all the time in the world.

Judith sucked in a breath, " _Phoenix_."

His remaining eye widened upon hearing his name, his now empty eye socket covered by a black patch. His surprise quickly melted away, replaced by a smooth smile. "Who told you my name?"

Judith didn't want to bring up Jasiri, especially if she was right and this really was Shenzi's castle. "Why did you kidnap me?"

His eye twitched, the only sign that he was annoyed by her ignoring his question, "Two reasons. The first being that I was paid to get you away from your king, I think you know who that would be?"

"The laughing bird," Judith murmured her voice hard. "Shenzi."

The tiger purred, "Smart girl." He leaned against the wall, tail lazily twitching back and forth. "I had only gone to Kingsland to buy a few things; I didn't think I'd already see you. Saved me from slipping into Nicholas' castle"

And Judith took that as a small silver lining. She had no doubt this tiger would've killed anyone who got in his way from Nicholas to servants. She swallowed back the lump in her throat, her natural instincts screaming the obvious fact that she was in danger. "What was the second reason?"

She bristled when the tiger walked forward and kneeled before her, his expression was slack with lazy amusement. "Shenzi wanted me to slit your throat and dump you in a ditch. She wanted to attack Nicholas while eh was grief-stricken. But I convinced her kidnapping you would be better, making Nicholas insane with worry, reckless in battle. We thought of making a ransom note but-" the tiger snorted, "No offense, my darling. But I doubt he'd give up his Region for you."

Judith didn't respond, glancing around the room, "So am I to sit in here for the rest of my life?"

"Of course not," Phoenix assured. "You'll spend the rest of your life in a dungeon." He effortlessly held Judith own as he unchained her ankle and picked her up, she tried to struggle but her limbs were still heavy from earlier. The castle hallways were eerily empty though she imagined the servants wanted to stay away from the assassin as much as possible. Finally they reached a set of stairs that led them down into the darkness; Judith took in a few breathes to calm her nerves. Lamp light appeared a few seconds later and she noticed a guard who acted like he didn't even see them before they stopped into a room that was circular of shape, several cells dim in light and too many voices filled the room, worried, scarred, and angry.

Phoenix picked an apparently random cell and pulled a ring of keys from his pocket and unlocked the cell, tossing Judith in with little fanfare and slamming it shut before she could even try to move. She glared at him through the bars and his teeth flashed white in the dim light. "Don't worry darling, you'll be the first to know when Shenzi becomes queen of Foxhollow." And then he was gone.

Judith tried to lift herself to her feet, managed it after the second try and grabbed the bars between her paws and tried to look at the other cells, to see who else were captives of Shenzi.

"What did you do to Phoenix?"

Judith jolted and whirled around, releasing the cell bars and losing her balance, ending up on her knees on the cold floor. In the back of the cell, thick with shadows and cobwebs was a pair of ice-blue eyes that watched her with an unreadable expression.

"He wouldn't have brought you down here himself unless you did something to irk him terribly," the blue eyes said. "So I guess _you're_ the one who tore his eye out?"

Judith nodded, hoping it would keep the stranger from trying anything funny. She narrowed her eyes as she tried to make out his outline, he wasn't much taller than her, that she could tell. By his voice she guessed he was around Nicholas' age.

 _Nicholas_... Had Amelia gone back to Foxhollow? How much time had passed? Did she tell Nicholas and Maximus? She believed Phoenix in that if he tried to ransom her, the Wildes would choose Foxhollow over her. Which is precisely what Judith would want them to do. But would they try to sneak into the castle? Would they walk into one of Shenzi's or Phoenix's traps? She needed to hurry and escape. And she needed help to do so.

Judith pushed herself onto her feet, legs still shaking slightly but the feeling was finally coming back. She rubbed her arms to get the blood rushing. "My name is Judith."

"Judith," the stranger tried her name, his eyes momentarily becoming slits. "Can't say I've heard of you."

"I'm not surprised," Judith shrugged, "I'm from Foxhollow."

"Not exactly close to home," he hummed. "Is it safe to assume you were a farmer?"

"I'm from a family of farmers," Judith answered humbly. "But I've spent the past few months-" (had it only been a few months?) "-living at the castle of King Nicholas."

"As a servant? How do you know Phoenix?"

Judith felt she had given away enough information to a total stranger, she decided it was time she got a few answered in return: "Who are _you_ , exactly?"

His laugh was a bitter and cynical thing and then there was a shuffling as the stranger stood up and walked out of the shadows-Judith sucked in a breath as she looked at the last thing she expected.

He was a hare, an incredibly handsome hair with snow white fur and dark, exotic stripes. And marring his otherwise pleasant face were three long claw marks that ran over his left eye.

"My name is Jack Savage."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the short length of this chapter. I have one more chapter before that finishes this commission which is for the best since I don't know if you can tell but I'm kinda floundering right now.


	28. The Waiting Game

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "She's going to regret that," Nicholas replied, pulling his lips back to have his teeth flashing.

"Nicholas...Nicholas... _Nicholas_!"

The fox jolted, vision clearing to look at the map before him. He stood before a table, claws digging grooves into the wood while his father, captain, and others surrounded him and the map. They all looked at him as if they expected him to pass out and fall onto the floor but Nicholas could barely pay attention to them, his brain doing somersaults as it tried to focus on the battle plans. But instead his ears rang with the words his mother had told him only a few minutes ago:

" _I couldn't find her...she was lost to the crowd...I searched but I couldn't stay any longer...I left a few soldiers to keep looking...I'm sure she's fine_."

Nicholas should've stayed with her, should've made her stay with him. Amelia had told him how Judith spoke to Leodore, if he had done something to her...

"What is it?" he snapped, turning his shining eyes on his father.

His father frowned, "Perhaps you should relax for a moment, you're still weak from that attack and the stitches are still-"

"I'm the king," Nicholas growled, hating how his voice cracked on the last word. He was a king but he couldn't keep safe a bunny that lived under his roof. "I'll be the one leading my soldiers into battle; I need to know the plans."

Maximus didn't say more but shared a glance with Bogo. Nicholas turned to glare at the map, "We'll need to set up camp near the town next to Nectar Forest, that's the place Shenzi knows best and that's where she'll try to invade." He traced his claw across a swerving line, "This is a nearby ravine, and we need to be careful here." The ravine was a vicious drop to the fast flowing water below, said water leading to a dam where the nearby towns relied on it for drinking water. Shenzi would definitely try to cut off any supplies of water that she could. "There are some large fields of crops too, we have to watch those areas. Shenzi will do whatever she can to cut us away from any sources that she can. And with the crops thriving at the moment, her smaller soldiers could easily hide there."

"So can ours," Bogo huffed. "One of Shenzi's problems is that she can't see the advantage of having many species under her command. She prefers only mammals with sharp teeth."

"She's going to regret that," Nicholas replied, pulling his lips back to have his teeth flashing. Judith's teeth weren't sharp but she could send any of Shenzi's pathetic predators to their knees. But the thought of Judith quickly returned the anxiety that twisted his insides and made him feel sick. He hated that he had to  handle Shenzi first before he could try to find her. He had to rely on the soldiers his mother tasked to find her. He had to lead his armies into battle to protect their home, Judith would want him to do just that-she was valiant like that. But it did little to ease  his nerves.

He sucked in a breath, "Get everyone ready, we leave for the town tomorrow."

.

Judith lifted her chin, "So, I guess _you_ did something to irritate Phoenix?"

His expression was unimpressed but his eyes seem to hold something deep and dark and he glanced to the left, "You can say that." His paw lifted and carefully traced over the scars on his face.

Judith didn't reply, sitting down before the bars of the cells and looking around into the dim room beyond, muttering from the other prisoners could still be heard.

"Not curious on what I did?" Jack asked.

"I'm afraid not," Judith replied, still staring out through the bars. Now finally seeing him her curiosity had vanished, and if he was sitting in the dark like that he probably had no interest in trying to escape. "I have to leave."

"Do you have a plan?"

"Not yet." Judith pushed her foot against the bars, as expected they were kept in good condition despite the dungeon's terrible looking shape. "But I have places I need to be."

The hare walked over to kneel by her side, giving her a sideway look, "What places?"

Before Judith could decide whether she wanted to say more a voice from the nearest cell, raspy with age, "Jack, who are you talking to?"

"Just a bunny named Judith," the hare answered before leaning back to relax.

The old voice made a thoughtful humming noise," I know that name."

"I'm from Foxhollow," Judith decided to say. These animals were prisoners of Shenzi, them knowing she was from Foxhollow wouldn't help the hyena in any fashion.

"Ah! Yes! You're King Nicholas' ward! Jasiri told me about you!"

Judith's ears shot up. _Jasiri_! "Does-does Jasiri come down here?"

"She comes down to bring us much better food than her mother allows," there was no mistaking the affection in the old mammal's voice. "She also came down to tell us what is going on in the world above, she spoke of you fondly."

Judith jumped up, startling Jack beside her, "Will she come down here today? How long until we can expect her?"

"Her visits are random, it's only when she can sneak away from her mother's gaze," he answered. "And with her mother planning war...there's no telling when she will get down here."

 _Please Jasiri_ , Judith begged silently, _Please get down here and help me escape_!

.

Wolf had always been told he had an excellent scent of smell, but it was a drownright miracle he was able to keep on Judith's trail as she left Kingsland and toward Grinningvale. He was glad it hadn't rained. He had just found her scent when he and Gazella ran into two soldiers wearing the armor of Foxhollow. Gazella had asked where Judith was and the panicked mammals had explained she was missing and both she and Wolf had panicked. Gazella returned to the Wanderers to start a search party while Wolf managed to follow her scent. And he wasn't surprised in the slightest when he realized he was being led into Grinningvale territory. News got around fast, especially with Wanderers and he knew the tension between it and Foxhollow, ready to break like a fraying string. That fox's opinion of her must have changed drastically if she was being used as ransom.

But she wouldn't be for long. Wolf had once made a living going into places he wasn't allowed to be and taking things that weren't his.

With the Grinningvale castle coming into view he knew he had never held any loyalty to any Region, not even the one he was born in. But he liked that crazy rabbit that helped him catch that wild wolf.

And he'd get her back to her king.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay I finished that commission. Time for a break everyone, I have to finish other commissions then get to getting stories published so I can pay the bills.


	29. Hurry

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A part of her couldn't blame him for the lack of faith, another part agreed with him.

_Prince Richard Wilde was alive_... 

Or, should Jasiri consider him king? Or did that fox just happen to look like him?

She had only met him once, when she was a pup. Kings and queens had gathered around for a social gathering to keep up their spirits. The gathering being the day after Honey was banished Jasiri had been distraught, hiding from her mother and other adults. But Richard had found her, and he had been so kind. Jasiri had been so sure Honey was the only nice mammal in the world that didn't bow to her mother. 

But a few weeks afterward they had received the news that he had just...vanished. 

Now she had returned to her castle, walking it's relatively empty halls. She feared for her soldiers, being sent out to scope for places to set up camp, to perform an ambush is someone got too close. But at the same time her mind would loop back to the memory of Honey's cottage. 

The way Richard had acted it didn't seem he knew he was the rightful heir to Foxhollow. Honey had called him Blue-Eyes. He was polite and knew her as the princess of Grinningvale but not the shivering pup he had once comforted. And Honey hadn't shown any signs of her knowing the fox's origins. But the badger had always been cryptid.

 

Her stormy thoughts were cut off so abruptly she nearly tripped when the black wolf suddenly crawled through one of the hall's windows.

There was a terrible silence as the two's eyes met, both incredibly still. Jasiri's mouth open to scream but the wolf was faster, slamming into her and knocking her to the floor, clapping her muzzle shut. She tried to struggle under his greater weight as the intruder looked around the hallway, making sure they were alone before dragging her kicking into the nearest room. Jasiri scratched his arm viciously and he dropped her with a painful snarl.

"Don't touch me," she barked, jumping away and hitting the wall, her fur bristling and teeth bared.

The wolf glared at her, his green eyes glowing like fire, "Where is she?"

Was this an assassain? Here for Shenzi? Or her? "W-who?"

"Don't play dumb with me, where's the rabbit? Judith!"

Jasiri's jaw dropped, "Ju-Judith...what are you..."

The wolf reached out and grabbed her shoulders, lifting her to her feet and bared his fangs. "I followed her scent, I _know_ you're holding her. Give me here!" And then, as if to make himself more intimidating than he already was he growled in her ear. "I'm not scared to leave a kingdom without a monarch."

Jasiri pushed her paws against his chest, trying to put distance between them. "I didn't know Judith was here. And you can...you can go for my throat if you must but if you're planning to hurt her I won't let you." Her mother's insanity must've been rubbing off on her. But all she could hear was the rabbit's words: _I think you're brave already._

The wolf suddenly released her and she stumbled before catching her balance. "I owe Judith," he said. "I'm going to get her out of here."

.

Judith's continuous attempts of escape made her the form of entertainment to the other prisoners. Jack muttering over her shoulder as she racked her brain for ideas, far too impatient to wait for Jasiri. 

"I'm running out of time," she had mumbled to herself at one point. "I have to get back to Nicholas."

Her voice was quiet but Jack's hearing was just as fine as hers. "Is that the reason you refuse to give up? Over a fox that hasn't noticed you're gone?" 

Judy whirled around to throw a glare at him but ultimately didn't say a thing when her eyes fell on his scars. A part of her couldn't blame him for the lack of faith, another part agreed with him.

Nicholas had a war to worry about, would he have the time to come after her? Would he even have the time to think of her? Did he even know she was taken...he could think she had just run away... Judith shook her head, remembering the look on his face when she left, remembering the promise she would return soon. She put the nagging darkness in the back of her mind.

She started to search the soggy hay that was scattered over the floor. Jack quietly staying out of her way but his icy eyes burned into her back.

Judith let out a triumphant gasp, picked up a rusty, broken nail from the floor, though she could really care less how it got there. 

Jack scrunched up his brow, "What on earth are you-" he stopped mid-sentence as she ran past him. She reached her arm through the bars and jabbed the cracked key into the lock, furiously twisting it this way and that.

"You must be joking," Jack said in disbelief. Beyond their cells the eyes of the other prisoners glowed in the dark as they watched. "You can't possibly expect-"

 _Clink_.

Judith and Jack's eyes bulged in disbelief, not believing it had been that easy. But then the prisoners let out excited exclaimations: "Princess!"

Jasiri walked into the dungeon followed by Wolf of all mammals who looked relieved when his eyes found Judith. 

"Jasiri!" Judith cried out as the hyena rushed to her with keys in paw, unlocking the cell. 

"I'm not sure while you're here but you need to leave. Mother and Phoneix aren't here now but I do not know when they'll be back."

Judith stepped out of the cell, her body buzzing with _go_ , _go_ , _go._

Butshe wasn't done here. "We need to get Jack and the other prisoners to safety while we have the chance." 

Jack stepped forward and Judith nearly flinched when he looked at Jasiri. His cold eyes were practically burning. "You ask too much of them, Judith."

Jasiri's ears folded back and she turned to the other prisoners. 

"Don't worry about us Princess we will be fine!"

"You can't let your mother see you releasing us!"

"She'll kill you!"

"We can't hold out longer, we swear!"

The hyena looked to Judith and Wolf, "You'll help me?"

Wolf glanced at Judith who was already nodding, her eyes shimmering with determination. Jack was silent and expression-less.

Jasiri took a deep breath, mumbling under her breath as she lifted the keys: "If I wasn't a traitor to the crown before... I definitely am now."


	30. The Return

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They abandoned the castle, it looked like all subjects were waiting for Grinningvale to fall.

"Stay close, Jack." 

Judith grabbed his paw and pulled him forward, they were falling behind from the rest of the group. Jasiri lead the freed prisoners through the empty halls of the castle. Wolf was tense as he walked along side the mammals, bracing himself to be spotted any moment.

But the castle was as silent as the dead, and while it worked to their advantage it made Judith sick. Jasiri said they were all with Shenzi, heading for battle, or going into nearby towns to hide and be with family. They abandoned the castle, it felt like the subjects were all waiting for Grinningvale to fall...

"Jack," Judith hissed when he still wouldn't pick up his pace. She looked over her shoulder to glare at the hare. But his eyes weren't on her, they were stuck on Jasiri and Wolf. And while his fur was flat and his paw still, a torrent of emotions boiled behind his icy eyes. He was terrified of them.

Just like Judith had once been...

Jack finally tore his eyes away from the predators when Judith squeezed his paw. "It'll be okay. I'll protect you."

Her words got the softest of smirks from him and he kept his pace level with hers, they gradually got closer to the group.

A few minutes later Wolf spoke up, "Call me difficult but I don't want to just walk out the front door."

Jasiri nodded, "Neither do I."

"What are we going to do?" one of the prisoners, a young beaver, spoke up. 

"Wolf, how did you get in?" Judith asked. 

"I climbed to a window."

Judith couldn't imagine the older prisoners would be able to perform such a feat, her foot tapped in thought, ears alert just in case. Jack stepped forward, paw still fit with Judith's, "What about the Catacombs?" he asked her.

Jasiri's eyes turned to the hare, startled, "How do you know of the Catacombs?"

Jack didn't so much as glance at her, eyes staying on Judith and only glancing at the other prisoners, "The Catacombs lead out from the back of the castle where we can make a clear line right to the forest and straight out of Grinningvale."

Judith wanted to know why he knew these things, why he was in the castle's catacombs. Who was he, exactly? But at the back of her mind was the impatient, _loud_ voice telling her to just go through the Catacombs, hurry out of there, get back to Nicholas. She straightened her back and nodded toward Jasiri and Wolf, "Let's go."

.

The walk through the Catacombs was much worse than the walk through the castle. It was dark and damp, Wolf had found a torch but it did not do much to light their way. The walk was so agonizingly slow because of the older prisoners, having not used their joints in so long, Judith and Jasiri making sure they were able to keep up. Then there was Jack, his eyes seemed so dark, he offered Judith the smallest of smiles when she glanced at him but whenever his eyes fell on one of the predators a starving sort of hatred cast a film over the icy blue orbs. Judith didn't want the hare to look at Nicholas or his parents.

But if that wasn't enough, Judith had another sense. Almost one of being watched...but the only thing that occupied the Catacombs were the skeletons of long dead mammals.

When the group finally, _finally_ reached the end of the Catacombs, the gray weather outside felt like a paradise. The former prisoners practically burst into tears when they were finally free of the walls of the castle. A couple rushed to Jasiri and wrapped their arms around her, thanking her over and over for freeing them. Judith smiled at the group before turning to Wolf who stood a few feet away, "And thank _you_ , Wolf."

The canine smiled at her, "My debt is repaid, _after_ I get you back to the Foxhollow King. We should hurry and leave."

That's right, Judith's ears were red as her heart nearly danced with the fact.

Jasiri stepped forward, "I have to find my mother, try to keep everything reigned in." She looked at the prisoners, "They can't come with me."

Before Judith could reply Jack stepped forward, glaring dagger into Jasiri. "They're going with _me_ , out of this Region and away from a mindless war where predators rip each other's throats out."

Everyone stared in surprise at the hare, the fear he held only a short time ago was replaced with a wrath that Judith wanted to be far away from. But she forced herself to step forward, "If they wish to go with you they can. But you have to keep them safe."

"Safer than their princess did," Jack breathed where only Judith could hear. The rabbit frowned.

With time being short the farewell to the newly freed mammals was a quick one, thanking Judith, Jasiri, and Wolf for their help and wishing them well. Jack meanwhile apologized to how he had first treated Judith, and shared his hope they would meet again. Judith only smiled, a part of her hoping his hope didn't become a reality. The rabbit and two canines waited until Jack and his entourage were out of sight, leaving the Region, all the Regions, behind. Then they turned to each other.

"I hope I do not see you on the battlefield," Jasiri spoke to Judith. "I hope...I hope we can fix this before anything awful happens."

Judith's throat tightened, "I hope so too." But she didn't believe it, she believed something would happen...

"Let's go," Wolf told the rabbit, "The king is waiting."

.

The Foxhollow army was staying in the woods where the savage wolf was found, it felt like centuries had passed as she and Wolf walked through the forest. So much had changed... She looked to the predator beside her, "How did you know they would be here?"

"Two reasons, I was told before I went off to find you, and I can smell Gazella. She's with him."

"How is Gazella?" Judith asked, she was excited at the thought of seeing her friend again.

Wolf smiled softly, but his eyes gave away a much greater feeling. "She's my mate now."

Judith's eyes widened, "Really?" That was something mammals can do?

"I don't believe either," Wolf chuckled, "But she is a...very persuasive individual. Did you miss the king?"

She blinked, "Where did that question come from?"

"Just curious," Wolf said and didn't wait for an answer. It didn't stop Judith from feeling hot under her fur.

They walked for a few more moments in a fairly companionable silence, facing a savage wolf and escaping a castle would make friends of many mammals. Judith's ears perked up when she caught the sound of chatter, busy, serious chatter. Her heart leapt. Wolf nodded, "We're here." And Judith could've sworn she saw his tail give a little wag.

 Not two seconds had passed after the words left his mouth when two antelopes appeared from the brush, brandishing swords. Their jaws dropped when both pairs of eyes fell on the rabbit.

"Judith?"

"Lance," she cried happily, remembering the two from training. "Anthony!"

The two practically fell over each other, exclaiming their excitement and awe that she was still alive. That they were putting posts around the town, that they expected Shenzi to attack at any moment, that King Nicholas-"

"KING NICHOLAS!" Lance cried out, "He has to see you, he has to know you're here!" Judith's paws were grabbed and the three practically dashed through the woods. Wolf keeping close behind. 

Judith's excitement was almost becoming uncontrollable. She was so close to seeing him again, and this time she'd stay right by his side.

They broke into camp to be rewarded by more delighted gasps. The crowd of soldiers hurrying over to welcome Judith back. It made the rabbit feel so bashful, she hasnt realized the army had liked her so much.

"Wolf! You found her!" Gazella appeared out of the crowd, rushing over to wrap her arms around him. "I knew you could do it!"

Judith left the two to their nuzzling, turning to Lance, "Please take me to the king." 

He was in the heart of the camp Lance told her, going over strategies with Bogo and their newest ally: 

"Lord Big?"

The antelope shrugged, "He heard about Shenzi and expected she wouldn't just leave him and his family in peace. He's come to help keep her at bay."

That gave Judith a sense of relief, but all of her thoughts-the relief, the worry, the hunger, the exhaustion-they all vanished when she turned a corner and there he was.

Standing before a table that was covered with maps, Bogo and Lord Big and Fru Fru at his side. He hadnt even noticed her yet and her heart was up in the sky.

But Fru Fru saw her first. Her eyes lighting up and a smile breaking across her face, "Judith!"

Bogo, Big, and Nicholas all whirled around in unison to see the rabbit, she smiled a little awkwardly. Bogo had a small smile on his face, both he and Big shared an expression that said they knew  she would return in her own time. 

But Nicholas...only looked mildly interested. "You're back," was his monotone reply.

"Y-yes," Judith stammered, stopping from taking a step forward. "Wolf helped me, and-"

"You can tell me later," Nicholas cut her off. "Your hungry aren't you? Lance, go take her to get something to eat."

He was sending her away? She just got back from what could've been her death? Did he not care? 

Judith reminded herself he was a king. A king with his subjects watching, a king who had an appearance to keep. A king who, perhaps, truly did not have time for a rabbit, not when he had a war to face. Maybe not even after it was over. 

She could understand that point...but knowledge did nothing to lessen the pain. 

 

 


	31. Missed

“Don’t feel sad, Judith.” Fru Fru sat beside Judith, trying to sooth her friend whose eyes and ears were downcast. The two sat before a small fire and pot, a vegetable stew having been heated up for the rabbit who devoured it greedily.

Judith’s mother once told her things would always appear better with a full stomach and she supposed…she had been right. With her belly full and head a bit clearer Judith knew that however she felt about Nicholas not being as excited to see her as she had been, they had enemies breathing down their necks and she needed to keep her wits about her and help.

            “I’m not sad,” Judith reassured her small friend. “I’m nervous, we’re ready for a fight and I need to help.”

“Bogo told us how brave you’ve been lately,” the shrew smiled proudly. “It’d be foolish for them not to help. Though I also wish you wouldn’t. I don’t want to see you get hurt.”

“It’s not me you have to worry about,” Judith returned the grin. “Shenzi is going to regret getting on my nerves.”

She jumped to her feet and stretched her limbs out, Fru Fru gave her a look. “My father would say not to go looking for danger. I don’t think His Majesty, Nicholas would appreciate you running toward Shenzi on the battlefield.” Judith opened her mouth before quickly slamming it shut again. _I’m starting to doubt Nicholas would even care_ … She had almost said that. She couldn’t say that to Fru Fru, her friend would worry and there were soldiers standing around not too far away, they’d overhear-they’d tell Nicholas. Judith didn’t want him to know how much it hurt.

That she-

            “Judith,” Lance appeared from the trees, jogging to your side. “The king is almost done with his strategy meeting. He wants you to meet him and explain how you escaped.”

Not that he cared, Judith assumed. The fox just wanted to know if she knew any valuable information. Well, the fact Jasiri helped her would be a big piece of news. A wary part of her mind told her to warn him about Jack but she pushed it away, the hare was probably miles away by now. She doubted either her or Nicholas would see him again.

No, now she had to go and keep her head level and voice from shaking. She had to pretend all the fear and longing she felt back at Shenzi’s castle hadn’t happened. Judith bid the two farewells and followed Lance’s directions.

            She found the king’s tent; it wasn’t hard to find-it being the largest one. There were no mammals near; Judith wondered if the fox was inside?

She took a breath to steady her nerves and walked in-only to find the tent empty minus a few living accommodations (bed, table, etc.).

Judith stood awkwardly in the middle of the room. She looked around, trying to decide if she should stay here or go out and find the fox, or just go back to Fru Fru and pretend she didn’t get Lance’s message.

            But then she felt footsteps behind her. She turned and saw Nicholas walk into the tent. Despite everything being near him still gave her relief. “Lance said you wanted to talk to me, I-”

Nicholas embraced her, it happened before she could even blink, the fox rushing to her and dropping to his knees to wrap his arms around her and pull her against his chest, burying his face into her neck.

“N-Nicholas,” Judith stammered. He was shaking.

“Are you alright?” he breathed, he was much bigger than her but felt so small…

Judith pressed her paws against his shoulders, “I’m fine. Are you…? I didn’t think you cared the way you-”

“I’m sorry,” he cut her off. “I’m so sorry! I was ready to fall to pieces when I saw you and couldn’t let Bogo and Big see me like that. But that’s no excuse.” His grip tightened around her and Judith didn’t mind in the slightest. Her eyes widened when she felt tears against her neck.

“I was so scared,” he breathed. “I thought you were…I didn’t know what I’d do if…” He pulled back to place his paws against her cheeks, meeting her eyes. “I can’t have you doing that again. You have to stay with me, please. Otherwise I-” It looked like all his bones sagged, and he dropped his paws. He kept his eyes on the ground, “You’ve utterly undone me, Judith.”

“Have I?”

He glanced up at her, “Why are you smiling?”

She covered her mouth but the smile didn’t wane, if anything else it grew. “I’m sorry. I’m just…happy. I-I really missed you.”

Nicholas pulled her back to him, wrapping his arms around her and curling into her. This time Judith eagerly returned the hug.

“I missed you too,” he breathed into her ear. His fur lifted when Judith pressed a kiss against his ear.

 Her heart was dancing with the bold action, wondering if she should-all thoughts left her head when Nicholas pressed his lips against hers. Judith pulled him closer, feeling her soul singing as he let her lay on the bed.

He missed her.

He cared for her.

He loves-

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apologies for the short chapter. The zootopia anniversary is coming up and I have a BIG project I haven't even started yet. 
> 
> I’m starting to doubt Nicholas would even care… She had almost said that.


	32. The Choice

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> WARNING: MATURE CHAPTER
> 
> This chapter does not have anything huge going on plot wise. If you are too young or are uncomfortable reading nsfw you can skip this and wait for the next chapter to come out. You will not have to read this to follow the story. 
> 
> “You can,” he replied, his eyes never looked more like emeralds as he smiled down at her. “I want to give you the world.”

 Judith had never really put much thought into finding a mate. It wasn’t like her parents were starved for grandchildren, her older siblings having found spouses. A couple gushing to Judith about how wonderful it was to find love, that one day Judith would be just as lucky.

But no buck had ever shown much interest in her, especially when she followed Rose around who was much prettier. So Judith put love in the back of her mind and focused on working with her family.

            But now she was laying in a tent with a king’s-a fox, at that-lips against her neck and weight across her torso.

Judith snuggled into his warm fur, his words from earlier still singing in her ears. The world felt smaller and warmer in this tent, just her and Nicholas. This predator that had somehow slipped into her heart brought out her courage that had long since been buried. And now, it would appear she had slipped into his heart as well, despite his best efforts.

            Nicholas nuzzled against her neck, slipping his paw under her back before bringing his mouth up to kiss her, Judith felt like butterflies were dancing in her stomach.

“Judith…” he placed his nose against her own, his claws pressed against her skin. “When this is over? Do you plan to stay?”

Her brow furrowed. “Stay?”

“At the castle. With me.”

“You mean I could go?”

A wave of guilt rolled over her when her words caused Nicholas to flinch, but he pretended to not have done such. “Yes. You aren’t my ward anymore, Judith.” She was torn over how to feel about that. She could go home and be with her family again…But then she’d leave Nicholas. And the pain at that thought only solidified how she felt about him.

“I want to see my family again,” she admitted. “But I also really want to stay with you.”

 “You can,” he replied, his eyes never looked more like emeralds as he smiled down at her. “I want to give you the world.”

Judith burned under her fur and she turned her face away. That was a stronger declaration of affection than she was prepared for. “Thank you…”

“But I also want _you_ ,” he added and Judith snapped her head around to look at him.

“What?”

Nicholas swallowed, with an uneasiness she had never seen before. “I…I…”

            Judith knew what the fox was asking, she could she the lust burning in his eyes. But was she, herself, something she could give away. No buck would want her after this, choosing to be with Nicholas now would mean she could never find a husband after all this.

She swallowed and reached her paws out to run her fingers across his jaw line. “I don’t need the world. I just need to know you aren’t going to let me go.”

His eyes sparked with excitement but he kept still, trying to stay calm and collected. “I would-I swear. Are-are you sure?”

 Judith had never seen herself as a wife, she never saw herself as a king’s mistress either but weirder things had happened. She tried to think of the consequences, the main one being one day Nicholas would marry and she had to see him love someone who was not her. Judith had grown in strength since she left her old home but she wasn’t sure she was strong enough to handle that.

            But then, at that moment, lying with Nicholas as he gazed at her like she was the sun and stars… It would be worth it for this one moment.

So in answer Judith kissed him, pulling him closer to her. Her skin jumped when she felt a new weight press between her legs, the heat sinking through her dress and to her flesh. Nicholas whimpered into the kiss and wasted no time slipping his paw under her dress to slide between her legs. When his paw found her center Judith gasped in surprise and sensation. The feeling was foreign and strange but as his fingers moved it also became pleasurable. Judith broke from the kiss to breath, her breathe coming out as more of a pant as his pushed deeper into her. Nicholas nibbled against her pulse as he used his free hand to undo the back of her dress.

Judith, trying to think past the pleasure, slid her shoulders out of the dress, Nicholas’ mouth moving to her now bare shoulders. He pulled his paw out of her core so she could kick the rest of her dress off. Now completely bare to the fox she recalled the things she was told for the day she was to be married and laid on her back. It was both embarrassing and exhilarating to see Nicholas run his eyes over her, taking her in.

“You’re beautiful,” he breathed finally. Judith’s heart swelled to fill her chest, and over such a simple compliment.

Before she could reply Nicholas took his shirt off, revealing his scars that were a fresh pink. Judith told herself to be mindful and make sure he didn’t hurt himself.

Nicholas pulled his pants off and Judith looked to the top of the tent and the fox chuckled as he lay atop of her, pushing in between her legs.

 “You’re nervous now?”

“I’ve never done this before,” Judith pointed out the obvious that they both already knew eyes still pulled away.

“Neither have I,” Nicholas admitted with an affectionate nuzzle against her chest. “But I’m too happy to be nervous.”

Judith smiled at him then, the fox returned the smile. He then lifted himself up slightly to look at the space between her core and his shaft. “But I do know it’ll hurt a bit.” _No offense, Nicholas_ , Judith thought to herself. _But not much could hurt more than the moment I thought you didn’t care I returned to you_. “It’ll be okay.”

 Nicholas nodded and, with obvious concentration, led himself into Judith, the pressure and sensation of penetration shocking. Judith dug her blunt claws into his arms and tried to breathe calmly. Glancing up at Nicholas to see his eyes had glazed over with lust. When he was all the way in he curled over her and kissed her cheek.

“If it hurts too much,” Nicholas breathed into her ear. “Just tell me, and I’ll stop.” With that said he flexed his hips and Judith gasped before throwing a paw over her mouth.

As Nicholas continued to grind against her Judith felt her moans pushed against her palm. She still felt impossibly full but the pleasure was incomparable to anything else she had ever experienced. Nicholas was growling low against her ear, she could see his limbs shaking, trying to not move any faster than he was. Judith urged him to against the fluff of his ear and Nicholas didn’t need more encouragement, pushing harder into her and Judith hoped no one was walking near the tent during that moment, they would’ve surely heard her cry.

Nicholas pushed in and out more easily, her wetness making him slick, but now his steady pace had vanished and the desperate urge to climax was rising. Judith wrapped her arms and legs around the fox to hold herself in place, moaning hotly into his neck.

            Judith didn’t realize she was climaxing until she was, her eyes popped open and she saw stars. Her cry of pleasure was low and prolonged and she pressed tighter to Nicholas, wanting to be one with him, not wanting to let go. But as her climax subsided like a ferocious storm she was left feeling like liquid, sprawling on her back and releasing the fox as her bones felt nonexistent.

Nicholas came a second after but his was different, he made an excited growl but then Judith felt herself expand even further. She let out a whimper but couldn’t bother to even lift her head up. However she recognized what had happened, she had heard Finnick talk of very raunchy subjects to Nicholas when she was around. The king had knotted.

            Nicholas wrapped his arms around her, letting his own muscles relax, now stuck to her.

“I thought-” he spoke between pants, “-That I’d last longer.”

Judith could hear the embarrassment in his voice and she snuggled into his chest to appease. “I thought you were wonderful.”

He smiled between her ears, “We’re literally fixed together.”

“I don’t mind,” Judith breathed gently. And then because she couldn’t help but ask, “We’re going to do that again?”

Nicholas threw back his head and laughed. “If I survive, we can do that again when we get back to the castle. We can spend all day in bed.”

“There’s no if,” Judith replied with no room for argument. “You’re going to survive. You have me to look after you.”

Nicholas tightened his embrace, “How fortunate for me.”

Judith’s eyes drifted shut as she felt sleep pull her into unconsciousness. There was going to be much to face tomorrow, in the future, but with Nicholas-a king, a fox, a mammal that had her heart-holding her in his arms. She believed she could get through anything life would have to offer.

 

 

 

 

 


	33. Like A Ball and Chain

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Interesting read,” Shenzi said her tone empty, which was a breath of fresh air to Shenzi’s usual snarl or sarcastic sneer.

            Jasiri was curled into the corner of the tent she had been given, her face throbbing from the blow Shenzi had greeted her with. It was the punishment for leaving the castle without permission or good reason but at least Jasiri wasn’t ordered to go back.

Now she tried to collect her breath and summon the courage she would need tomorrow. But it wasn’t just the fear that made it so hard for her to go against the hyena who was no longer her mother. It was the memories, or _the_ memory, that reminded Jasiri that Shenzi had once been her mother.

 

.

 

            It had been such a small moment, Jasiri, not yet an adult but could no longer call herself a child, had been studying in the library. It was a book on trading history, and she could remember every line in the book, she could remember the way the sun light streamed through the windows, casting warm patches on the stone floor. The room spelled of old paper and dust, it really wasn’t cleaned like it should be, but Jasiri hadn’t minded. She loved the library, the only place she could truly call her own, a place where she ruled as Shenzi had never stepped foot in there where her daughter could see.

Not until that insignificant afternoon.

            Jasiri’s fur rose on her shoulders as she felt her mother standing over her, looking past her shoulder to the book between her daughter’s paws.

“Interesting read,” Shenzi said her tone empty, which was a breath of fresh air to Shenzi’s usual snarl or sarcastic sneer.

“I like it,” Jasiri said softly, trying not to flinch when Shenzi took a seat beside her.

Shenzi rested her chin on her paws and stared out a nearby window, she looked tired.

“Is everything okay, Mother?” Jasiri asked after a few moments of awkward silence.

Shenzi breathed through her nose, “Nothing really is.”

Jasiri supposed the last meeting she had with the Wolfring king hadn’t gone well, the young hyena wasn’t surprised. But that king was an enemy Grinningvale didn’t want to have. And it surprised Jasiri that instead of tearing up the castle in a fit of rage she was quietly sitting next to her daughter, looking pitiful.

“I’m sure it isn’t-”

“His parents died too.”

Jasiri blinked, her mother still didn’t look at her. She probably wasn’t even talking to her. “The Wolfring’s king, his parents died when he was young, he was only a few years older than me when I lost your grandparents. Ironically enough today is the anniversary of their deaths.”

Jasiri stayed quiet. She had never had an opinion about her grandparents; she was told they weren’t awful rulers but hardly ones that would be remembered in history as well.

But for long as Jasiri lived, and the eternity after, she would remember in vivid detail when her mother cried, for the first-and only-time, in front of her.

“But he, he had no problems with _anything_!” Shenzi snarled, but there was more grief in it than malice. “ _How_ did he do so? You’re fortunate Jasiri; you didn’t have to put a crown on your head a few short years after you were weaned. You didn’t have to stay indoors and listen to the bloody consequences of war and starvation. I’m not forcing you to marry and bed some disgusting old hyena the way the court forced me, desperate for an heir, only to have your worthless father die as well. The one good thing about him was that he had taken the weight off my shoulders only to throw it all back, suffocating me, breaking every bone in my body.” Shenzi curled into herself, his throat making an awful noise as she held back her sobs. She had never looked so small before, and Jasiri wasn’t sure this mammal before her was even her mother.

“It never ends, the weight of this entire Region is breaking me, no one cares, I have to suffer it without any trace of _gratitude_. I hate it, I hate it, _I hate it_!”

 Not sure what else to do Jasiri awkwardly reached out and placed her paws on Shenzi’s shoulders, jumping in her skin when her mother shagged against her, tears staining her daughter’s neck. “You’re the one good thing…” she muttered, and Jasiri didn’t believe her mother was truly talking about her, but she had always held it to her heart that she did mean her. “You’re the one good thing…”

 

.

 

            Curled into the tent with battle hanging in the air, Jasiri let her tears fall, Tomorrow she knew what she must do, tomorrow she must gather her courage, tomorrow she had to do what a queen must.

Tomorrow she must betray her mother.

 

.

 

Yards away from the Grinningvale camp, hidden in the thick brush of the forest, a pair of sapphire eyes glinted in the dark, watching the enemy.

 

           


	34. Of Titles and Tricks

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nicholas wants them to call me Lady Judith, the thought made her smile softly.

When Judith peeled her eyes open the next morning Nicholas wasn’t beside her. It didn’t bother her that much; he no doubt had to tend to his soldiers and wanted her to rest. Sitting up Judith stretched out her limbs and, with blurry eyes, gathered up her clothes and pulled them on.

Dressed and running her blunt claws through her messy fur Judith walked out of the tent, only to bump into a meerkat.

“LADY JUDITH!” the meerkat jumped back and gave an overly dramatic bow, nearly falling on his nose in the process.

Judith, who had been about to excuse herself for bumping into him, only blinked dumbly, “Lady?”

Her confusion only further confused the meerkat, he turned to look over his shoulder, “We’re suppose to call her Lady, right?”

Judith jumped when she noticed the warthog standing only a few feet away, studying his shield. “That’s what His Majesty told us to say,” he replied.

 _Nicholas wants them to call me Lady Judith_ , the thought made her smile softly.

“He also told us to watch over you,” the warthog added as he walked over to join them.

Judith titled her head to the side, “Where is he?” Judith looked over their shoulders, the camp looked fairly empty, and all of the larger soldiers were gone. “Did he leave for battle?” _Without her?_

 “No, my Lady,” the meerkat answered, his back straight and chin high, not making eye contact with the rabbit. “A civilian came into camp and told us there were Grinningvale soldiers in the nearby town; the king took a pawful of his soldiers to the town to solve the problem.”

 Judith walked past them and walked over to a circle of dying embers and coals, what was left of one of last night’s fire. “He took a pawful of his stronger soldiers,” Judith pointed out. “I bet he plans on going off into an attack after he chases those Grinningvale soldiers away.”

“Aw, don’t feel too bad,” a voice spoke from the shadows of the trees, making the meerkat and warthog yelp. “I didn’t go either and I was the one who brought you back.”

Green eyes glowed in the dark before Wolf stepped out, while his arms were crossed and a lazy smirk pulled his snout back Judith took note of his erect ears and stiff tail. He was keeping an ear out for danger.

 “Where’s Gazella?” Judith looked around for Wade’s mate.

“I sent her away,” Wolf replied, “She’s a lover, not a fighter. And I needed her to go find the Wanderers and get somewhere safe. She took Fru Fru with her, as well.”

“I suppose that’s for the best,” Judith replied before turning to the meerkat and warthog, “How long has His Majesty been?”

“A few hours at the most,” the warthog replied with a shrug, “We’d figure he’d be back by now, the town isn’t far away and we haven’t heard any shouts.”

“We should-” Judith’s jaw shut. What was that? She lifted her ears in the air, turned them left and right. There! She faced the north of the camp, eyes on the woods that were too dark, too thick with foliage. Was that…purring?

            “Wolf…” she breathed, looking around for any weapons. She saw a handful of swords a few feet away, specifically a rapier. She needed to get to it.

“I heard it,” Wolf growled low, unsheathing his own sword.

The action caused the meerkat and warthog to quickly and clumsily pull out their own weapons. “What is it? Who’s here?” the meerkat demanded, “Get behind me, Lady Judith!”

Judith just spared a glance at the smaller mammal then looked back toward the forest. She couldn’t hear the purring anymore. It was deafly quiet; the rest of the camp had gone still when they saw Wolf pull out his sword. Judith kept moving her ears, where was the purring? _Where was it!?_

Then she heard a creak, the creak of a branch…right above their heads.

Judith and Wolf’s heads shot up. The wolf snarled, “HE’S UP IN THE-”

            A large shape jumped from above, landing squarely on Wolf, knocking him to the ground and unconscious, his sword falling from his paw.

“ _WOLF_!” Judith cried out as the attack slowly rose to his feet. Judith’s ears fell as the tiger chuckled, slowly turning his head, his one eye glaring into Judith’s soul.

“Hello, little rabbit,” Phoenix purred.

 

.

 

            Nicholas’ fur bristled with irritation; there were no Grinningvale soldiers in this town.

“Maybe they ran off when they heard us coming,” Lance spoke up from beside Bogo, trying to cheer his king up.

“Perhaps,” Bogo said but there wasn’t a shred of conviction in his voice.

Nicholas glanced down at the beaver who had ran to their town, screaming that Grinningvale was in town and they needed the king’s help.

“You said they were in the town square,” he asked the beaver once again.

The beaver nodded his fur sticky with sweat. “Y-yes, they were threatening the townsfolk. I-I’m not sure why they would’ve left.”

 Nicholas narrowed his eyes, he felt this beaver was lying, but he had met him before, he had been to this town, they were incredibly loyal to the crown. And they hated Grinningvale, they wouldn’t betray them…

 “I’m sorry, sir,” Nicholas’ father stepped forth and put his paw on the beaver’s shoulder. “But if we can’t find the Grinningvale soldiers we need to return to our camp, but we’ll leave a few of us here to look after-”

“No please!” the beaver grabbed Maxmilian by his shoulders, “Please don’t go, they’ll come back and they’ll-they’ll-”

            A distant scream suddenly reached Nicholas’ ears and his blood ran cold. That was from the camp. _That was one of his own_!

He whirled around, sword ready and fur bristling, “ _IT WAS A TRAP_!”


	35. The Peak

A lithe shadow swept through the camp of Grinningvale soldiers, the air thick with meat and snoring. The shadow's blue eyes glowed in the dark, wide and wary of the few soldiers that kept guard. Luckily, the two he past were drowsy and he was able to creep past without a sound.

Tasting the air he caught the scent he was looking for and followed it to a tent, that was guarded by another soldier who was staring out into the trees, the feline's eyes far away. Keeping low the figure stalked around to the back of the tent, fidning a loose corner where it slithered in.

Sapphire eyes immediately shot to the sleeping shape in the tent's corner. The shadow quietly walked over and nudged the shape whose eyes immediately popped open as if they had never been sleeping at all.

Jasiri opened her mouth to call for help but the paws of the shadow clamped her mouth shut. It was then recognition lit up her eyes and her tensed muscles, ready to fight, relaxed. But her ears stayed laid back, confusion evident on her face.

The shadow nodded toward the loose cloth where he slipped in, releasing Jasiri the shadow crawled out of the tent, only having to wait a second before Jasiri followed. Together the two slowly made their way back to the darkness and safety of the forest, Jasiri surprisingly not having much difficulty crawling in her dress.

Once they were out of ear-shot of the camp the shadow finally spoke, "I'm sorry for stealing you away like that."

"I'll forgive you if you tell me why your here and what you are planning," was her reply, still looking at her kidnapper as if she couldn't believe her eyes.

"I believe in you, Jasiri, I believe you can take the throne of your Region and fix the damage your kin caused. But you can't do that under your mother's shadow, and I don't think you can it alone, either."

"You're going to help me?"

"To the best of my ability. But, you need to understand...you can't tell anyone about me. Okay?"

Jasiri's eyes nearly fell out of her head, "You know then..."

"Yes, and I'll try to explain everything when this is finished but for now, I need you to trust me."

After a few moments Jasiri finally nodded, "Okay. I trust you."

Richard Wilde looked relieved and smiled at her, "Okay then. Let's save Foxhollow and Grinningvale."

.

Wolf growled underneath Phoenix, his eyes flashing with wariness when the tiger placed his sword next to his neck. But Phoenix didn't even look at him, instead his one eye slowly went over the camp of scattered, tense soldiers, until it landed on Judith, his smile widened.

"You escaped," he purred, "You never cease to amaze me, rabbit."

Judith's eyes narrowed, her legs buzzing, instinct telling her to move, do _something_. But she forced herself to remain still, the meerkat and warthog behind her glancing at each other, the rest of the camp looking desperate for a plan. They couldn't rush the tiger with his sword pressed against Wolf's throat.

"I expected more from you, to be honest," Judith replied, voice icy. "Using Wolf as leverage, how cowardly."

"There are no rules in war, my darling," he replied. "But if there was, you all outnumber me. And isn't that a tad bit unfair?"

"If you want a one on one fight let me up," Wolf growled from under him, "I'll gladly slice you into ribbons _fairly_."

Phoenix glanced down at him, twisting his face into a expression of mocking pity. "I'm afraid I have no interest in challenging you." He turned back to Judith, " _You_ on the other paw..."

A few murmurs broke amongst the other soldiers. They weren't sure why Shenzi's assassin would want to face a rabbit of all things. The meerkat and warthog then decided to move, only to step in from of Judith protectively. "You'll have to fight someone else," the meerkat growled, "This is the King's ward and we're in charge of protecting her!"

Phoenix looked prepared to run them both through to get to her, and Judith wouldn't let that happen. Instead she stepped around the two to face the tiger, "It's fine. If he wants to face me, I won't stop him. But he's going to regret it."

.

Nicholas hadn't even made it halfway back to camp before, as he lead his soldiers through the forest back to his camp, he was tackled from the side. Both he and his attacker rolled through the debris, hitting a hill and when Nicholas finally kicked the stranger away he was on the edge of a wide field. And he wasn't surprised to see a hyena snarling at him a few feet away.

"Shenzi," he bared his fangs, standing up and grabbing the hilt of his sword. He saw she had no sword, no instead she wore leather gloves, complete with long, silver claws. It was a miracle she hadn't broken through his skin during the tumble.

He heard the sounds of fighting from the trees, his soldiers trying to get to him, probably running into Shenzi's army. He folded his ears against the back of his head. _Wait a little longer, Judith. I'll get to you...as soon as I murder a monarch._

 

 


End file.
